


Lance's Love.

by TheKsourmoon



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Altean Lance (Voltron), Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Autistic Keith (Voltron), Beta Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bottom Keith (Voltron), Galra Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Heavy Angst, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Summaries, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Insecure Lance (Voltron), It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith (Voltron) Dies, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Kuron is Shiro (Voltron)'s Clone, Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M, Omega Keith (Voltron), Omega Verse, Other, Out of Character, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Relationship(s), Past Sexual Assault, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron) Has a Clone, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Trans Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-07 15:31:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 54,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21460342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKsourmoon/pseuds/TheKsourmoon
Summary: The story, of Lance and Keith falling in love after the loss of Allura, the loss of what they knew..and growing and developing together. It get's pretty complicated. A lot gets revealed. It takes..a long time to reveal them.The coauthor has passed due to covid.
Relationships: Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 90





	1. Keith's Arrival and Healing Session

**Author's Note:**

> This was a Discord chat. Please take note, this is all completely for fun. Not canon, relies rather little on canon. First chapters are dry, but extremely important in building Lance's character for his arc later, and building Keith's character and of course..world generation! Welcome to my life. :D First couple chapters are cheesy fluff.
> 
> Max 8-10 chapters remain before the coauthor succumbed. They will be posted. It would be an honor to publish the co authors last works...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Co Author, who pilots Keith has passed away due to Covid.

Lance was at a crossing point in his life..between what had happened with Allura, and the departure of Voltron.. He didn't know where to go, or what to do besides..Honoring her legacy. He wondered if the other's would even speak to him. Sure they met yearly..but they remained rather distant. Shiro had become busy upon setting up his new life, and the responsibilities of piloting Atlas..., Pidge setting up her state of the art lab on Earth. Hunk and Romelle always busy running the empire of amazing delicious food... None of the other members seemed all that interested in keeping together now Voltron was gone... Sure, they were friends, but life, responsibilities kept them apart.. They gathered but maybe twice a year, and really only to Honor and remember Allura for what she sacrificed.. Lance was recalled to himself as he realized there was a distant hum of the nearby Interplanetary portal opening... He let out a soft sigh. Another transport.. Wonder what this time, He thought. He got up, going to head inside to the platform. He hoped to meet the arriving party and see who it was. Honestly a little skeptical of it's origins when the Altean at the desk pulled up a monitor displaying the connecting source of the signal.. one of the old Marmora bases.. He put on a small smile, resuming his usual attempt at confidence as the dark colored transport unit pulled up and into the Altean bay. 

Keith had accepted the crushing fate of rejection as soon as he realized he had feelings for Lance. Sure, he was head over fucking heels for the Red Paladin, but it was obvious that his chance was gone. He missed his chance and now he had to deal with the consequences. No matter how hard he tried, he’d never be able to replace Allura. Stunning, brave, smart, passionate, hot, neurotypical Allura. Everything he was not. Yet here he was, a fallen victim to his hopeless feelings, staring at the castle in horror. Why, Keith? Why did you show up? He doesn’t want to see you! Keith was brought back to reality by Kosmo licking his hand with a small whimper. He crouched down to hug the wolf as the doors slid open.  
“Good boy.”

Lance's eyes nearly sparkled as he spotted Keith among the few Marmora members that were on board via the monitor. He was rather quick to go over, brushing past the two alteans that were by the Monitoring station. He moved through to the entrance gate, his smile widening as he finally saw Keith, and Kosmo. Wow..It felt good just to see Keith, It'd been so long, he was sure he was missed..or at least, he hoped he was missed. Lance realized there was rather little reason for Keith to have arrived..other than to possibly discuss more deliveries and..other business stuff, but he hoped this time..maybe they could relax, ..actually talk, rather than having Lance stand idly by as Keith spoke to Coran and organized with Coran. 

Keith finally approached him with an awkward grin. “Hey, Lance!” He sighed, stroking Kosmo’s ears to distract himself. “How’s it going?”

Lance smiled warmly, giving a soft chuckle. "..better..Better now that you're here. I thought it'd be another couple months til you stopped by.." He briefly rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm surprised you're even here, ..was there not enough in the last shipment of juniberries?"

“No, uhm...” Keith looked down and away, cracking his neck. “There was plenty enough. I... Coran called me to visit, that’s all.” He sighed, lying through his teeth.

Lance's cheeks briefly colored as he heard Keith's response, the smile faltering a little. "...I uh..o-oh..Coran didn't tell me he was actually going to do it.." he says, rather embarrassed. "I..Uh....I'm sorry he bugged you.." he says, the blush fading. God damnit, why did he tell Coran he wanted to see the others..! This was terrible! Of course he missed them, but Keith?! REALLY?! Coran must have lost his mind, asking specifically Keith to come to Altea to cheer him up. "..I'm surprised the Marmora let you take the time off, from..yknow..the peace missions and restoring order.." he says, giving a soft attempt at a chuckle, trying to keep lighthearted.

“Well,” Keith let out a sigh of relief at the change of the subject. “We barely have to do anything anymore, with how fast people are just spreading the news of peace. It’s amazing. How have you been?”

Lance smiled a little, shrugging, relieved they could change the topic. He was nervous about explaining the situation that Coran happened to create. "..I'm glad, I've..mainly been farming, really. Hanging out, figuring out..what I can do besides teach the legacy of Allura..." He says hesitantly, rubbing his neck. "I...kind of just do whatever Coran wants me to do..I've learned how to build healing pods..It's..supposed to be my new job.." He says shrugging a little.

Keith smiled and started walking towards the castle with Kosmo by his side, wagging his tail. “Can you show me the pods?”

Lance started walking with Keith, leading him towards the castle, he smiled at Kosmo, still rather happy and surprised that they were even there. "Sure. They're..still not fully put together, but I've got two built so far, Coran's been teaching me the ins and outs of the healing pods, and we had two Olkari's come by and visit..to help me figure out the internal wiring, and the manipulation of the quintessence to promote healing rather than..corruption."

Keith whistled, smirking at him teasingly. “Jeez, Lance. You’re starting to sound like Pidge with all those big words.”

Lance flushed, his partial smile finally falling as he averted his eyes. "Hey..I know big words...I mean, it's ..not that hard once you learn how to do it..I..kind of want to help spread healing pods across the galaxy..eventually." he pauses as they enter the castle, brushing past a few Alteans as they walked about, talking amongst themselves. "I just want to ..try and do what you all are doing.." He says, giving a small smile. "Helping the coalition to spread and..keep the peace."

Keith gave him a small nudge and smiled brightly. “That’s sounds more like you. Helpful and stuff. You’ve always been like that.”

Lance smiled, the flush fading. "I mean, it's not like I ever stopped wanting to help everyone. I..I'm just surprised how the technology works. If we can spread the healing pod design across the universe, then we can definitely save more people..Sure, we can't save them all..and now even the tech has limits on what it can heal.., but it's still better than nothing." He says, shrugging slightly. He lead Keith over to an elevator, stepping in as it was emptied of the few Alteans and others within the elevator. "I just wanna help, since..just mourning Allura, isnt..really doing much to help the cause."

Keith cleared his throat and nodded awkwardly. “Sorry.” He mumbled, shrugging and reaching behind him to play with his ponytail absently

"No, no..it's my fault. I didn't realize how much mourning Allura..was taking away what good I could do. Now..I still tell her story, but I y'know..got other good stuff that I can do.." he says giving a soft chuckle and a shrug as they entered the elevator.

Keith’s nodded and gave him a pat o the back. “Well... good for you, Lance. I knew you had it in you.”

Lance shrugged, giving a slightly embarrassed chuckle. ".. I'm just happy to have a purpose again." He says averting his eyes. "..I missed having someone to support...and now I have the entire universe's lives to support." He says, his cheeks flushing slightly.

Keith looked at him carefully before sighing. “You can support me.” He coughed, under his breath. “You’re doing amazing.”

Lance relaxed a little. "I'm surprised, ..honestly. I didn't expect you..to be willing to listen to me go on about all the weird stuff I'm doing wasting my time on Altea.. I mean, yea, I've finally got stuff to do that..isn't just checking on kids and picking vegetables.." he paused. ".. How's it been going with Krolia and Kolivan? .. I'm sure it's been stressful going from planet to planet so often..and with so many dialects to learn.."

Keith sighed again, heavier this time. “Yeah. While it’s cool being fluent in more than one language, I’ve already learned ten. It’s really stressful. And you’re not wasting your time, Lance. Just do what makes you happy.”

Lance shrugged. "..I mean, hey..it's still learning languages. It is stressful, and you've got so much to learn...and I still have like five languages to add to mine..." They arrived on the proper floor. Lance gestured for Keith to follow him. "I'm sure, it'll get easier since most languages often share small pieces."

“Oh, totally.” Keith waved a hand with a nod. “They’re all similar, but it’s harder than you’d think. You always get strange looks and then you realize you’re talking in the wrong language!”

Lance shrugged. "I still mistakenly switch to English for at least half of the ones I've got partially down." He says giving a soft laugh. "And here I thought learning all the languages on Earth was hard! Tractator is harder, hah." He says, smiling as he lead Keith to the room with the pods being built. Kosmo trailing close behind the two.

Keith stumbled forwards when Kosmo jumped on him with an excited bark. “Down, boy!” Keith cried, snapping his fingers.

Lance chuckled softly, moving over to help Kosmo off of Keith. "Oh, Kosso, come on! Ya big lug, gotta give Keith some space." He says, laughing softly as he hugged the big space dogs mane. He was honestly beyond happy just to see Keith again, ..it did in fact help with those bad feelings to be able to see a familiar face..one he didn't have to try and make like him, one he knew could tolerate his talking and weird behavior...or at least..the behavior of a human.

Keith huffed and snapped at Kosmo again with a light blush going up to his ears. “Kosmo, yield.”  
Kosmo sat down and looked up at him expectantly.  
“Good boy,” Keith mumbled, tossing him a treat.

Lance chuckled releasing Kosmo as he stopped. "Such a good boy. You've finally learned some tricks, huh?" He says smiling, before looking over at Keith. "You okay?, Heh. I thought he was going to knock you down." He says noting as they continued to the room, where Lance has been spending most of his recent time building pods for the last couple months.  
Keith sat down in the side of the room with benches, looking around with a grin. “Impressive, Lance. This is awesome.”

Lance swept a couple of old cups off into a garbage box, pushing some plates in as well, flushing. It was clear he had spent the last two days at least holed up in the room, working on a newer pod that lay on its side, still yet to be erected for testing. "It just keeps me busy.." he says, embarrassed at the state of the room. "..Sorry it's kind of messy, I'm still figuring out the layout of this one..it's..gonna be our prototype for a portable pod.." he says, the flush still prominent on his cheeks.

Keith flushed as well, patting his arm assuringly. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it! You should see my place at the Blade... it’s way messier than this.”

Lance was still rather embarrassed, but calmed a little as he cleaned quickly, tossing a bag to the corner of the room. "Man, it's still so bad. I've been kind of..working here all the time. Corans been bringing me food and stuff..." He says, embarrassed. "I'm just kind of still figuring out this one," he says rubbing his neck briefly. "I still have like a week left..but that one" he points of to the right of the room at a pod that was erected and seemed to be almost installed. "It works, but it's not..perfect. it's only partially installed and doesn't retract like the old ones used to.."  
Keith jumped up and pulled off his shirt suddenly to reveal a bandage around his torso. “Can I try it out? See if it works?”  
Lance froze as he saw Keith pulling off his shirt, his eyes widenjng a little as he spotted the bandage around Keith's torso. "..w-what happened? Is it bad? The pod isn't perfect, it might end up leaving a scar if it's too deep.." he says, worried. He knew the pod wasn't perfect..Lance's own arm was proof of that. He still had a occasional muscle painc to prove it.

“It’s just some scratches, nothing big.” Keith assured. “Unless it isn’t safe...?”

Lance shrugs. "Okay..as long as it's small stuff, then it should be fine, and heal without a scar. Unfortunately I haven't gotten it perfect, but it worked on my arm, so it should work just fine on you" he says, flushing briefly.

“Cool,” Keith chirped, climbing inside. “Ready for takeoff!” He joked, leaning back into the seat and shutting the door.

Lance moved over quickly, programming the pod using the screen built into the side, setting it for Keith's body size and other such small details, as well as where the healing should focus. He relaxed as the light at the top of the pod turned blue, and the glass became tinted with Keith's medical stats. Lance pressed a symbol of a mic on the screen. "Just relax, and take a little nap. You should be out in fifteen.." he says, the audio streaming directly into the pod.

Keith smiled at him and gave him a little wave. He soon fell asleep, drooling a little as his head rolled forwards.  
Lance sighed softly, stepping back from the pod, going rather quickly to Kosmo, moving to try and hug the big dog. A bit relieved to even have seen the two. "..Man Kosmo..you have no idea how much I missed Keith and you..."

Kosmo jumped up to him and started lapping at his face, barking excitedly and wagging his tail.  
Lance chuckled as he hugged Kosmo tightly. "Ha! Kosmo, stop! Stop, down boy!" he says laughing as he laid back, happily pulling the dog over him. Honestly overjoyed to have the simple pleasure of being able to hug Kosmo again. ....and how much he wished he could hug Keith once more.. his cheeks flushed as he briefly shook his head, hugging Kosmo close.  
Kosmo curled up next to Lance and yawned, shutting his eyes. 

The healing pod made a whirring noise before flashing a red light near the top.

Lance smiled, petting Kosmo, relieved. He got up though as soon as he saw the red light flashing. He moved over to the pod, quick to check on the healing progress using the panel. "..Keith's due out any moment.." he says softly, mostly to himself..knowing Kosmo couldn't understand him.  
Kosmo stood up and started to whine when Keith’s eyes opened but the pod didn’t.  
Lance frowned as the pod failed to open, moving over to quickly try and pull the door open. Lance checked the panel, noting that the door was still locked. Uh oh..not good. Not good. Lance pulled rather hard on the door. "Give me a minute..It's..just stuck a little. u-uh..normal completely normal for prototypes..." He says, worried as he kept trying to get the program to unlock the door, knowing brute strength might not be enough to jam the lock free without breaking the door.

Keith pressed his hands up against the glass and only gave a crooked grin, waving at him.

Lance seemed worried, tugging on the doors handle briefly, tapping at the screen on the glass, frowning, his eyebrows slowly narrowing down, until finally..the door clicked open, the door sliding open with Lance's tugs. He was honestly terrified..the pod was far from perfect..and with this most recent Incident, lance wasnt sure it would ever be ready for installation.. "S-sorry, I didn't think it'd get stuck." he says shrugging as he stepped back to let Keith get out of the pod, offering his hand to help balance the other. Though the pod did allow for the recovery and rejuvenation of the joints..it still had the unfortunate effect of making a persons body feel weighted and heavy.

Keith stumbled out with a huff, landing in Lance’s arms with a chuckle. “Woah, hey there, isn’t this how we met Allura? My legs feel shaky.”

Lance was quick to catch Keith as he stumbled, his cheeks flushing slightly. "..I..uh, ..y-yea.." he says. "That's..normal, I'm still working on the whole..bad feelings afterwards.." he says shrugging a little, as he supported Keith. "..I..I can hold you." He says, quick to correct himself. "u-Until you can stand of course."

Keith nodded and stood up slowly, leaning into him with another crooked smile. “You can hold me for as long as you want.”

Lance flushed, a small embarassed smile, crossing his face. He was embarrassed, still holding Keith, giving a slight pull to hug him closer. "..I'd like that, ..I uh. ..Are the scratches healed?" he asks, pulling away a little, wanting to check.

Keith nudged their noses together, chuckling. “Why don’t you check, Dr Lance.”

Lance flushed deeper, moving to check Keith's bandages, pulling them off slowly. "..I-I...oh, they did heal.." he says softly, relieved. Honestly..embarrassed that Keith was being..so off. But it wasn't completely unpleasant. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Coran came hurrying into the room then, clutching a data pad. “Lance, my boy! Did you use the healing pod just now!?”

Lance's eyebrows narrowed as he turned to Coran, stepping back from Keith, the blush still prominent on his cheeks. "U-Uh yea, Keith used it? He had scratches.." He says, noting that the pad. "Why..?" he asks, honestly concerned.

Keith stumbled forwards, holding onto Lance’s shoulders for balance. “Woah there,” he laughed. 

Coran sighed and dragged a hand across his face. “Since they are not complete yet they still emit toxins that Alteans are immune to. I should’ve told you that. It- it’s like alcohol, is that what you call it?”

Lance flushed, frowning deeper. "Oh my Altea.." He paused, turning behind him. "..I..I've messed up. Big time." He says, sounding slightly shocked. "Um...Coran, can you uh..get us some water, I've...kind of just made the biggest mistake I could make..!" He says, sounding slightly nervous. "Alcohol and humans don't..really mix well.." He says averting his eyes as he moved to support Keith.

“It’s not too much, but of course.” Coran hurried off and cried for a glass of water when he found some servants. 

Keith leaned back to snort. “It’s not like poison, or anything...” he drawled, poking him in the face.  
"Yea..but you're not just human, Keith..you're also half Galra. I..I don't know how Galra react to alcohol! Plus it's not like you to have really spent a lot of time getting drunk back at the Garrison. I..just don't want anything to happen to you.." He says, hugging Keith a bit to him, embarassed, his cheeks rather red. He was worried for keith, but of course..He was Keith. Lance shook his head briefly. "let's just..get you sat down.." He says, trying to lead keith to the seats on the edge of the room.

“I’ll be fine.” Keith mumbled, patting the couch and curling up into Kosmo when he jumped up with him. “What a sweet baby boy... my little muffin.”

Lance averted his eyes, sitting down besides Keith, moving so he and Kosmo could relax. "I can't believe tthis..I try and heal you, and I just end up making you drunk." he says, giving a soft chuckle, briefly rubbing his head. He felt so stupid.

“S’okay!” Keith cheered, grabbing his shirt and leaning in closer. “A little fun never hurt anybody... right, Kosmo!?”

Lance shrugged. "..Okay,...well as long as you're going ton be okay.." He says, hesitant. He was indeed worried about Keith. "Are you sure you're not feeling any pain? ..oh..right, you might not be able to feel the pain if you're too drunk.."  
“Nope, I feel great.” He smiled up at Coran when he came rushing back in with a cup of water. “Thank you, Coran! My honorary uncle!”  
Lance averted his eyes. "..I just hope this wears off soon..Now I guess I get why I felt the way I felt when I had my broken arm healed." He says giving a soft chuckle. "Thank's Coran..I'm gonna keep an eye on him. I'm sure it's not very good for Keith to be left alone right now, right buddy?"  
Keith nodded, smiling at him stupidly. “Mhm. Don’t wanna be alone ‘cept alone with you.”

Lance chuckled. "..Okay, okay. I'll be here with you...At least it doesn't seem like it'll hurt you." he says shrugging a bit. "..Anything you wanna talk about, since you're..kind of out of commission right now?" he says, giving a small smirk.  
Lance flushed. "..I-I...I don't. I used to use Fahrenheit, but..I don't use anything now that I'm surrounded by flowers all the time.." He says, slightly embarassed. "I..I'm kind of surprised you're being so open..Now lemme ask a question.." He paused, building courage to ask the question. "..Do..you like me?"'

Keith flickered his eyes down to Lance’s lips and nodding. “How’d you know? Am I really that obvious?”


	2. Healing Session Part Two and Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's drunk, and getting over it. He admits..his love for lance. ..Things happen. I'm sorry.

Lance flushed deeper, honestly blushing full out. "..N-Not really, you're just..yknow..acting weird. It's..not like I don't like you back.." he says, smiling a little bit. "..cause I do like you.."

Keith clumsily stood up to climb into Lance’s lap. “Tell me more.” He said, setting his water on the table.

Lance continued to flush, his cheeks staying red. "..I..I like you, more than I thought I would..I've..liked you for a long time now.." he says, carefully choosing to rest his hands on Keith's sides. "I ..I'm pretty sure you don't remember this, so I guess it's okay to say." he says shrugging briefly.  
Keith leaned in suddenly to set their foreheads together. “I wanna kiss you really badly right now, you know? I wanna kiss you. And I want you to kiss me back.”  
Lance went quiet. "..S-Sure.." He says softly, in a slight bit of shock. His cheeks were still rather red.  
“‘Kay.” Keith leaned in and cupped both of Lance’s cheeks, leaning in to kiss him deeply.  
Lance smiled as his cheeks were cupped, rather quick to begin kissing Keith back, adoring the simple fact that he could..be with Keith.  
Keith slid a hand down Lance’s chest and titled his head to slip his tongue in his mouth.  
Lance kissed back, slowly swirling his own tongue with Keith's. A soft noise leaving Lance's throat.  
Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s neck, biting Lance’s lip gently and groaning. “Lance...”  
Lance moaned a little into Keith's mouth, honestly feeling quite embarrassed...but turned on. "..K-Keith, I.." He says, slightly conflicted as he realized..he had kissed a ..quite less than sober Keith. "..Keith, we can't..you're..not-" he trailed off, his hands sliding down around Keith's waist.

Keith leaned back with a confused frown, wiggling his hips. “What is it?” He slurred, titling his head.  
Lance frowned. "Keith, you're.. not sober..we..we can't go any further.." he says frowning. "..I..I can't risk it.."  
“Fine.” Keith yawned. “Then just kiss me some more.”  
Keith threaded a strand of Lance’s hair on his finger to twirl it around, smiling into his mouth. 

“My boy, the estimate is three- oh! Oh dear, uhm...” Coran blinked at the scene before sighing. “Three Varga.”  
Lance relaxed as he felt Keith's hand play with his hair, pressing a bit deeper into the kiss, only pulling back as Coran entered, his face immediately flushing deeply. He covered his mouth, embarrassed that they'd been caught..though realizing it probably was inevitable..mostly because Lance didn't want to stop kissing Keith.  
Keith pulled back to grin lazily at him. “Guess how long I’ve had a crush on you? Guess!”  
Lance gave a soft embarrassed chuckle. "u-uh..since we..fixed the universe? Or maybe since we got Atlas into space?"  
“Nope,” Keith snickered, setting his cheek on Lance’s shoulder to play with his hair. “Earlier.”  
Lance smiled, pecking Keith's cheek as he leaned in, letting him lay his head on the shoulder. "..Really? I.., wow.. how much earlier..? Like..Bi Boh Bi earlier? " He asks, honestly a little shocked that Keith even liked him..  
“No...!” Keith laughed. “Hmmm... it was when I left for the blade. I think I was trying to get rid of it, but it didn’t go away...!”  
Lance flushed, smiling a little. "..Wow..I..Ive liked you..probably since Shiro first went missing..when we bonded.." he says averting his eyes a little. He debated being cocky..but decided against it.  
“B- what!” Keith whined. “Why didn’t you say anything, dumbass!”  
Lance flushed deeper. "I was nervous! I thought you'd hate me, if I said anything..plus we all wanted Shiro back, and I was worried about how it's affect our relationship..and our Lions.., I didn't want to mess up Voltron!" He says, slightly embarrassed. "It's not like I didn't want to say anything...I wanted to..but without ruining anything else."

Keith sighed and pulled back to start kissing up his jaw again. “Well... now I’m here and you’re not ruining anything, so keep on going.

Lance relaxed a little, lifting his head a bit so Keith could continue to kiss, his hands briefly sliding up to rest on the small of Keith's back, he let out a soft sigh. "..I ...I'm happy to be here.., I'm sorry I waited so long.." he says softly, his cheeks rather flushed still.

Keith nodded into his neck and gave him a little love bite, squeezing his shoulders. “I’m happy to be here too.”

Lance flushed a bit deeper, a soft noise leaving him as Keith gave him a love bite. "..I wish I had said something, not that I..would have told you when you were sober."  
Keith smirked up at him and sucked on the mark softly. “You like it when I bite you, Lance?”

Lance bit his lip, slightly embarrassed. "It..it's not bad.., I.." he says hesitantly, flushed. He did in fact enjoy the bites, but he was unsure how to handle the situation.  
Keith chuckled and sat up in his lap to grin at him crookedly. “D’you know how many nights in the castle I thought about you?”  
Lance smiled a little more as he saw Keith's crooked smile..god damn it was cute. "A lot of them, I bet.." he says giving a soft chuckle. "i know I thought of you every single day when you were with the Marmora.."

“Me too,” Keith agreed. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for sooooo long, and now I get to. Isn’t that awesome?”  
Lance chuckled. "Ive wanted to kiss you months longer, I mean we get to kiss whenever we want to now,.." he says smiling brightly.  
"I didn't think..I'd ever really get to kiss you, or even..just hug you again, Keith.." He says, smiling.  
Keith smiled and turned around leaning back far enough to fall into Kosmo’s fur. “Kosmo, plan the wedding!”  
Lance laughed softly. "Oh definitely! Our favorite ring bearer, Kosmo!" He says smiling.

Keith chuckled and leaned back into him, sighing and sticking out his tongue. “I feel kinda hot.”  
Lance sighed, pressing a kiss to Keiths head. "hey, hey, rest..you need to drink some water.." He says reaching over a little for the cup Keith had put down. "drink, ..it'll help."  
“What if I accidentally spill it on my shirt and look all sexy?” Keith joked, pouting.”

Lance smirked. "then I'lll towel you off, and kiss you clean." He says, pretending to be serious. "Just drink, Keith." He says, giving a small laugh  
Keith blushed and started gulping it down, while water trickled down his chin.

"hey, hey..you don't need to gulp...You're gonna be more likely to choke, Keith" he says pursing his lips briefly, smiling still a bit. "You're still Drunk, so you need to stay hydrated.."

“You’re right, I wanna choke on something else...!” Keith burst out laughing, spraying water from his mouth.  
Lance froze, flushing wildly. "Keith!" He says, loudly shocked. Honestly beyond surprised with how easily Keith said it. "Oh my god! Keith!" He says, barely holding himself back from his own laughter.  
Keith rolled off the couch laughing, clutching his sides and gasping. “That was funny! Come on!”  
Lance gave in, laughing though worried as he tried to catch Keith, relieved that he fell onto Kosmo. "My god, Keith..! you're gonnaha-hurt yourself!"

Keith grinned at him and sat up a little, still giggling. “I hope this isn’t the only time I’ll be on my knees for you!”

Lance remained flushed, embarrassed. "Keith..! You know I won't be able to do anything especially since you're not ..sober" He says, laughing softly.

“Then when I am sober.” Keith whispered, crawling forwards and setting his hands on Lance’s knees. “You’d like that.”

Lance sighed, moving down to kiss keiths head. "of course I'd like that..but definitely not right now ...after all you..you're not okay enough to do it.."  
Keith groaned and rolled away. “Okay, Fine. Well, tell sober me to give you a blowjob.”

Lance rolled his eyes, laughing softly. "Trust me, sober you is going to be so confused. But we can still y'know.. cuddle and kiss." He says smiling.

Keith crawled back onto the couch. “How much longer until I’m sober?”  
Lance shrugged. "Honestly..I'm not sure, it..kind of depends on your body..and since you're not entirely human, we..we can't tell how fast you metabolize alcohol.."

“How about I take a nap on your lap?” Keith suggested with a snort. “That rhymed!”  
Lance flushed. "I mean..it's not a b-bad idea... I'm not sure if it'll be comfortable." He says shrugging, averting his eyes.  
Keith climbed into his lap again and rested his cheek on his shoulder. “Perfectly comfortable!”

Lance chuckled softly, pressing a kiss to Keith's cheek. "..Lets just rest. Im sure you're gonna be a little hungover."

Keith fell asleep swiftly, snoring into his hair. Kosmo curled up besides them and fell asleep too.  
Lance sighed softly as Keith fell asleep, relieved that he was resting... He knew he should be tired..after all, he'd been awake since the previous day. He relaxed a bit, closing his own eyes, falling asleep after a short while.


	3. Keith's gotten sober, and ..what will he do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm bad at chapter titles. Here have a thing.

Previously..!   
Lance and Keith had fallen asleep..! Now..

Keith woke up a few hours later, slowly sitting up and blinking at Lance. He turned dark red and leaped off the couch, gasping. “What-!”

Lance was still mostly asleep when Keith woke up. He flinched lightly waking up as Keith left his lap, giving a groan. He frowned. "Keith? What's wrong..?" He asks, immediately seeming concerned.

Keith went stiff and crossed his arms, laughing nervously. “Nothing! I must’ve fallen asleep and like... fallen on you or something!”

Lance frowned. "Keith..? What..No, no..you, don't remember?" He asks concerned and questioning. "You used the healing pod.."

Keith stepped back, laughing harder. “Nope! Nothing happened! I... have to go to the bathroom!”

Lance frowned deeper, moving to get up. "Keith..." He sags, trying to go after him. "You know things happened..! You got alcohol in your system..." He says, worried. "You..you really don't remember?" He asks, concerned and a bit upset.

Keith shook his head quickly, jumping away from him and blushing deeply. “N-Nope! Don’t remember a thing!” He did remember everything in detail, but he didn’t want to admit it.

Lance frowned, averting his eyes, realizing that there is a good chance..that Keith really didn't remember and..didn't like him. But at the same time, he wanted to believe that at least some of what Keith said was true. "..W-well..Uh..We kissed, and..cuddled. You said some things..t-that I am pretty sure you regret..." He says, lowering his eyes to the floor. He was worried about potentially upsetting Keith in this finally sober state.

Keith blushed deeper and finally turned on his heel to sprint down the hall, to the guest room where he stayed.

Lance was upset and confused. He got up trying to track down Keith. "Keith..! Keith, come out.." he says, beginning to stress. He knew there was a chance that Keith didn't really like him...but he held onto that hope that Keith was telling the truth. "Keith, come back.." he says making his way to the guest room section of the castle. Kosmo followed Lance close behind.

Keith groaned into the pillows on his bed. This was awful! He ruined everything, and told Lance how he felt in a stupid and unromantic way.

Lance frowned as he finally arrived at Keith's door. He waited a few moments before knocking, his hand drifting to pet Kosmos head. "..Kosso, ..do you like me? ..I know you like Keith more, but still.." he says softly. He raised his voice a little.more. "Keith, ..Keith, it's okay. Please let me explain..! It's not bad..!" He says worried.

Keith jumped up and opened the door, face turning bright red. “Listen,” he choked. “That was horrible of me and I’m so sorry I- I forced myself onto you!”

Lance flinched briefly as Keith opened the door. "Keith..! You didn't force yourself on me..! You were drunk..we only cuddled..You wanted to do more, and I..I didn't let you, because I knew it..would end badly." he says frowning. "It's not a bad thing, I like you..!" He says, his cheeks finally not all that flushed..He was over that embarrassment.

Keith stared at him in shock before scowling and crossing his arms over his chest. “Haha, very funny. Not cool, Lance. You don’t have to pretend...”

Lance's eyebrows narrowed. "I'm not pretending, Keith..! I like you. I've liked you for longer than you've even liked me!" He says, upset. "You're incredible..., of course I like you.." he says, his shoulders drooping a little.

Keith uncrossed his arms slowly. “Well... prove it. I don’t believe you- how do I know this isn’t a prank?”

Lance, seemed a little relieved, moving in closer to keith. "I will prove it..but I'm..I'm not going to prove it without asking your permission first.. ..May I kiss you again." He says, firmly, his eyebrows still slightly narrowed, though now in a look of conflict and worry.

Keith went red again, pursing his lips. “Uhm... yeah. Sure thing, go ahead.”

Lance's eyebrows finally returned to the more natural position, relieved. He moved in, careful to bring his hand up to cup Keith's cheek, slowly closing in to kiss Keith gently, but deeply, Relieved that Keith didn't seem angry.

Keith gasped into his mouth, standing stiffly before slowly sliding his hands over Lance’s shoulders and kissing him back.

The corner's of Lance's mouth perked slightly up as he felt and heard Keith gasp into his mouth. Lance let his hand slowly fall from keith's cheek, to settle the arms around his waist.

Keith hesitantly moved a hand to cup the back of Lance’s head, pressing himself tighter against him.

Lance relaxed, as he pressed deeper into the kiss, breathing through his nose. Relief was filling him. Keith..didnt lie. Even drunk, he wasn't lying.. Lance sighed softly into the kiss.

Keith pulled back slowly, pressing their foreheads together to look down at his chest. “I didn’t... want to tell you like that.”

Lance let out a soft huff of air as they parted, slightly out of breath. "...I..I didn't mind, It's ..not bad. I liked it.." He says giving a soft noise of amusement.

“Yeah, But, like... I wanted it to be romantic or something, you know?” Keith leaned back to look at him.

Lance smiled, leaning back a little. "..I didn't even know if what you said..then, when you were drunk...was true. I was worried, it was just the alcohol..." He says, his cheeks briefly coloring, quick to fade. "I'm happy it wasn't romantic..I'm sure I would have messed it up." he says giving a soft chuckle.

Keith nodded before biting his lip. “I really like you, Lance. I... I actually came here to tell you.”

Lance smiled, pressing a kiss to keith's nose. "Well..I'm glad, because now ...We both know. And I ...I don't have to worry about hiding it anymore.."


	4. The Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a choice made by the human that plays Keith. That is NOT my choice. I personally appreciate and like this Non Cannon Keith, and absolutely approve of the Keith player's choices. This is adorable. This is perfect. If you have issue with TransKeith please leave. I don't appreciate hate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIRST NSFW CHAPTER FOR THIS FIC! Woo. Let's go nsfw stuff. Finally. Took way to long to get to here, but with the holiday season shit's busy.

“I’ve wanted to do this for so fucking long,” Keith whispered, leaning in to kiss him again hungrily.

Lance smirked softly into the kiss, deepening it rather easily, honestly smiling into the kiss. he relaxed. a soft noise leaving his throat into the kiss.

Keith backed into his closed door, letting out a gasp and furrowing his brows. “Do you... uhm... I have to tell you what you’re getting into.”

Lance pulled away as he panted softly, relieved. "..O-oh...uh,..we can go inside.." he says softly, not wanting a random altean to happen upon their ..situation. His cheeks were faintly pink, a small smile on his face.

Keith led him inside and sat on the bed with a sigh. “I’m going to tell you a really big secret about myself right now, okay?”

Lance shrugged as he followed Keith inside, Kosmo following him close behind, desperately wanting to be with Keith and Lance. Lance frowned as he sat down next to keith on the bed. "..okay.. ?" he says, a little confused.

“It shouldn’t be a problem, ‘cause I know you’re supportive of Pidge and stuff. But like... you’re dating me now. I’m... I wasn’t born a man. But I am now. Okay?”

Lance seemed a little confused at first. "..Oh, ...was that all? Keith, I don't care about your gender or your sex...I care about you. No matter what. I like you for you..Not for what's between your legs or what you look like.." He says, giving a warm smile, and a soft chuckle.

Keith let out a relieved sigh and nodded, looking down at his lap. “Okay. Cool, thanks. Where were we, again?”

Lance shrugged. "..Honestly, Whatever you want to do..I'm good with, Keith. I know you...kind of wanted..s-some things while you were drunk that I wouldn't let you do.."

Keith flushed and started fidgeting with his shirt. “Would you... you even want those... things?”

Lance sighed. "Of course, I would..but only if you consented, and drunk..I wouldn't dare let you, suck me off.." je says frowning softly. "You don't have to, especially if you don't feel up to it."

Keith flushed and stood off the bed, slowly sinking to his knees and pulling a hairband and off his wrist. “I feel up to it.”

Lance flushed, frowning softly. "Are you sure..? I don't want to make you." He says, a little hesitant.

Keith started pulling his hair into a ponytail. “You’re not making me. But- Wait, Do you want it?”

Lance frowned watching Keith pull his hair into a ponytail. "..I do, I just want to make sure I'm..not pressuring you.." he says, averting his eyes, his cheeks mildly flushed.

Keith cleared his throat. “You’re not pressuring me, but... are you sure you’re okay with it?”

Lance flushed a little deeper, giving a soft nod, finally bringing his eyes back up to look at Keith. "..As long as you're..okay with it." He says.

Keith set his hands on Lance’s knees and swallowed thickly. “Can I take your pants off?”

Lance gave a soft nod, slowly moving to unbutton and lower his pants, careful as he helped Keith to remove his pants. He was honestly..nervous. and he didn't know why, ..He loved Keith. He adored Keith deeply, so..why was he afraid?

Keith helped him tug them down, looking up to meet his eyes as he palmed him through his boxers.

Lance flushed a little deeper, biting his lip softly. He swallowed softly as Keith palmed. A soft noise escaping him. Why was he anxious..? They both liked each other..

Keith peeled his underwear off with a deep inhale, flushing. It was finally happening. He’d fantasized about this so many times before.”

Lance relaxed as he swallowed, he was still anxious..but he knew Keith wanted this. And he knew, he wanted this. He was rather hard already, and knew he would only get harder as soon as he saw Keith even daring to touch him. He bit his lip a little. "Keith.., I-I..I want it."

Keith nodded and took a deep breath, furrowing his eyebrows. “Do... do you mind me asking if you’ve had sex before?”

Lance paused, averting his eyes to the side, honestly,...a little nervous to answer the question..or at least, what came with it. "..Yea..I have." He says softly, quick to try and deflect the question. "..have you..?" He honestly, didn't want to explain his hesitance...or why he was nervous..

Keith shook his head slowly and reached out to touch his length hesitantly. “I haven’t... uhm... not with a real person...”

Lance pauses, a little relived, He looked back at Keith..at least maybe he could try and have a fresh start with Keith. ..Just because he had a past, didn't mean he couldn't change his present. Lance offered a small attempt at a smile. "...That's okay...We..can pretend like it's my first time...because, ...I've..never gotten a blowjob." He admits, shrugging his shoulders a little, flushing.

Keith smiled nervously back at him, shuffling forwards on his knees. “Can I put it in my mouth now? I think I know how to- y’know. Suck and stuff.”

Lance gently moved to set his hand onto Keith's head. "..Of course, ..Just do what feels right.." He says, giving a soft smile, still a bit apprehensive...knowing fully well, that his fear wouldn't go away without a little time..but keith was different. Keith liked him, he had no reason to be afraid. Lance..was just being ridiculous.

Keith started stroking his length, staring up at him as he leaned down to suck on the head of his dick.

Lance bit his own lip lightly. His cheeks were flushing deeper. He let out a soft moan as he felt Keith across his length, his back tensing slightly.

Keith slid a hand up Lance’s thigh, the other one holding his length still as he slid down the shaft, groaning quietly.

Lance's body tensed slightly, his cheeks remaining red as he allowed Keith, trying to relax as Keith continued. Lance let out a soft noise of approval, his hand carefully moving to brush over Keith's hair

Keith swallowed around him and looked up at him for approval, gagging a little at the back of his throat.

Lance still had a small smile on his lips as he gently ran his fingers through Keith's hair, giving another moan, his legs shifting slightly. He was getting close.

Keith slid a hand down into his own pants, moaning enthusiastically and pulling off to gasp for air.

Lance panted softly, relaxing back as keith pulled back, his length bobbing slightly. A soft gasp escaped him as he felt the cooler air. Lance gently moved to cup keith's cheek..honestly adoring the look on Keith's face.

Keith blinked up at him and rolled his hips into his hand, panting into Lance’s thigh. “Lance-“ he moaned.

"Tell me what you want.." he says softly, edging one foot forward, towards Keith's crotch. "You..look gorgeous.." he says softly, Lance's other hand drifting to his own length.

Keith moaned at the praise and shut his eyes, grabbing Lance’s hand away and licking up his shaft again.

Lance smiled, giving a soft chuckle, sliding his hand back up to Keiths hair. "..You're amazing, Keith-" he cut off into a moan.

Keith swallowed him back down again and started bobbing his head, gagging every time he went down.

Lance didn't pull Keith's hair, a groan leaving him as he felt keiths mouth. Damn, he was so close..keiths mouth felt incredible. So soft, velvety.. "G-going to come.." he warns, trying to hold back, his hips trembling slightly.

Keith slid down as far as he could, swallowing around him and nodding. The hand in his pants sped up, and he was now rocking into his hand.

Lance came as Keith continued, moaning rather loud, rather quick to bring up his now freed hand to cover his mouth, his fingers tensing slightly in Keith's hair as his body stiffened, closing his eyes as he rode through the short lived high.

Keith pulled off him and coughed into his arm, gasping for breath and sitting up. “Lance- can- do you wanna...”  
Lance flinched as keith pulled back, releasing his hair, panting softly, opening his eyes rather quickly as he heard Keith speak. "O-Only if you want to..." He says, his eyes glitttered slightly, a little wider than usual, his eyes averting briefly.

Keith cleared his throat and looked down as he started unbuttoning his jeans. “Do you want to?”

Lance let his eyes return to keith as Keith looked down. "..I-I..want to...do whatever you need me to do.." He says softly. He was honestly..nervous. Considering this was..his first blowjob, he had..really expected a different response. He was relieved.

Keith took a deep breath and started pulling down his jeans. “Are you okay with giving me head?”

Lance gave a soft nod, moving to get off the bed. "..Of course." Letting himself move down besides Keith. Noting how soft the carpet was.

Keith climbed onto the bed, spreading his legs hesitantly and starting to pull his boxers down.

Lance relaxed a little as Keith moved to a better position, honestly..a little nervous. Though this wasnt his first blowjob, ..it was his first time pleasuring Keith. Lance moved to quickly help Keith pull down his boxers, his eyes widening slightly as he saw Keith's clitoris, and labial folds.

Keith watched him and quickly shut his legs, hands flying down to cover his crotch. “The- it’s the testosterone, it makes it look weird...”

Lance flinched lightly as Keith shut his legs. "..H-hey..it's not that weird..Plus you're..not all human, I..couldn't expect it to be normal." He says softly, moving to carefully pull Keith's hands away from his crotch, swallowing softly.

Keith hid his face in his hand, leaning back into a pillow. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t really want it to!”

Lance frowned as Keith laid back. "..But I want to please you..You helped me...and besides, I love you.." he says softly, shifting closer on his knees to keith, moving in to softly blow on Keith's clit, a soft blush crossing his cheeks.

Keith turned bright red and gasped quietly. “You- you l-love me...?”

Lance flinched briefly, backing off rather quickly, shifting back on his knees. "..Y-Yeah.." He says, softly, honestly a bit nervous. He didn't want to upset Keith, or anger him. He averted his eyes, backing down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is a...little bit of a stickler for consent, after a hinted at relationship that you all will come to know in the next few chapters. There's juicy bits. Lot's of juicy bits. It gets better with age. Like a fine wine..and Klance Angst. Will post again tomorrow during the day, another pretty "short" chapter. ...Keith getting his lovely BJ.


	5. Keith's Affection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's affection and love is all that Lance could ever want..

Keith took a deep breath and leaned down to cup his cheeks and guide him into a kiss. “I love you too.”

Lance flinched as Keith leaned down, relaxing as he was guided into a kiss, giving a soft, nervous whine. He relaxed further as he heard Keith's words. "...I, want to please you.. so can I..?" He asks, his cheeks still mildly red.

Keith nodded and leaned back opening his legs again slowly. “Okay. Uhm... yeah. I’ll be quiet.”

Lance hesitantly moved forwards back closer to Keith, moving to carefully begin again, blowing a soft stream of air across the top of Keith's clit, noting it's size. "..I-Is..it really okay..?" He asks again, cautious..

Keith shivered and nodded, covering his eyes. “Yeah, just stop teasing, that’s fucking cold.”

Lance tensed slightly, giving a small nod before leaning in to take Keith's clit into his mouth, softly suckling as he slowly made his way down, applying soft pressure with his tongue across the inners of Keith's Labia, careful as he continued, paying extra attention to Keith's clitoris.

Keith gasped quietly, tangling a hand in Lance’s hair and blinking down at him. “Oh,” he whispered.

Lance tensed slightly as keith tangled a hand in his hair, carefully continued to lick along the inner folds of Keith's inner folds, softly applying pressure as he continued to please Keith.

Keith groaned from the back of his throat, resting his legs on Lance’s shoulders and glancing down at him. “Lance,” He panted.

Lance paused back as Keith spoke, a soft noise coming from him before he continued, using his tongue to go deeper, sliding across keith's slit, carefully bringing up a hand to use a single finger to fondle Keith's clitoris.

Keith gasped, tossing his head back and squeezing the hand in his hair. “Lance,” he moaned. “Uhn, it’s so good.”

Lance swallowed softly as he felt the hand squeeze, hesitating slightly before continuing, speeding up his efforts. suckling softly at Keith's clitoris, using his fingers to press gently against keith's labia folds, slowly edging a single finger inside, careful as he did so.

Keith groaned and rolled his hips into his hand, closing his legs around his head. “Oh, more, please.”

Lance moaned quietly as he moved to continue applying more pressure, pushing in a second finger, careful as he swirled Keith's clitoris with his tongue.

“Harder, Lance.” Keith moaned, holding his legs still to keep them from shivering.

Lance continued to suck Keith's clitoris, pushing the fingers a little deeper as he began a pace, worry briefly crossing his mind. He knew and was trying to give Keith the most pleasure.

Keith bit his lip and let out a shaky breath. “Lance, I’m gonna cum, oh god!”

Lance flinched lightly, speeding up his pace, using his tongue to flick and play with Keiths clitoris.

Keith tensed up after a moment and came into Lance’s mouth, letting out a loud moan and clenching his thighs together around Lance’s head.

Lance continued to lick and helped keith ride out his climax, licking up all that came out, closing his eyes as Keith's thighs clenched around him, wincing slightly.

Keith let his legs fall back open, panting into his hand and and laying back in the pillows. “Woah.”

Lance slowly pulled back, pulling his fingers slowly from within Keith as Keith's legs relaxed, bringing his free hand up to wipe his chin.. "Was that good?" He asks hesitantly, careful as he tried to shift back on the carpet.

“Yeah,” Keith chuckled, eyes wide as he pulled his boxers back up. “You’re amazing at that, it felt great.”

Lance swallowed softly, his cheeks minorly flushed, he wiped his mouth again, a small smile rising, feeling a little better Relieved he did a good job. "I'm glad..I..was worried.." He admits, flushing a little deeper, averting his eyes down.

Keith pulled him up into a hug and started kissing at his neck. “I love you.”

Lance moved forwards, hugging Keith back, relaxing as he was pulled up to his knees. ..Keith, loved him. Lance was relieved, kissing back deeply and passionately.

Keith groaned and rolled over, pulling Lance up and into the bed with him, straddling his hips and rolling them. “God, Lance.”

Lance instinctively rolled his hips up and into the air, a soft moan leaving him. "A-ah,..fuck. Keith.." he says softly, trying to honestly keep his voice down. He wasn't sure if anyone would have been able to hear them..

Keith grabbed his wrists and pinned them over his head, grinning down at him. “Do you know how many nights I spent touching myself and thinking about you?”

Lance swallowed softly as his wrists were pinned. "..Probably almost as much as I have, if not more." He says, a slight laugh leaving him, his cheeks flushed.

“God, Lance. Everyone knew except you. It was so obvious.” Keith whispered, grinding his hips down again.

Lance groaned, biting his lip a little hard, trying to stifle himself. He grinded up a little into Keith's hips. "I-I didn't realize..I thought you were like everyone else.." he says.

“Huh, What? Straight?” Keith teased breathlessly. “Never. All I ever did was stare at you.”

Lance briefly averted his eyes. "N-no, I..I thought you hated me too, I..I didn't know.." he says hesitantly. "you always looked mad at me.." he admits, briefly trying to grind up against Keith.

Keith gasped quietly and lowered his head down, rubbing against him with a groan. “You’re hard again.”

Lance flinched lightly, realizing that he messed up. He tried to stifle a moan. "..I-I can't help it..." He says hesitantly, knowing very well his position contributed to the fact.

Keith bit his lip to hold back a grin and leaned down to face him. “Do... do you want to put it in?”

Lance tried to shift slightly, briefly giving a light tug against his wrists. He was hesitant. "O-only if you're okay with it.." he says softly, averting his eyes briefly, trying to stop himself from grinding up against Keith again, knowing very well he could be denied and its side effects..

Keith leaned down to kiss him slowly and nod. “I want it, Lance. I want it really bad, but only if you do too.”

Lance tried to lean up to kiss Keith back, leaning up. "...I want it.." he says, hesitantly. "P-please.."

Keith let his wrists go and sat back up. “Show me how bad you want it.”

Lance swallowed softly as his wrists were released, moving to sit up, rather quick to wrap his arms around Keith, knowing fully well he didn't want to push Keith.. He didn't want to mess up, or upset Keith. "..I really want it, keith..I want you, ..i-in any way." he says softly, briefly grinding up into keith's hips, pressing a kiss to Keith's lips. "Please, I love you.."

Keith smiled and hugged him closely, chuckling against his lips. “I want you to... I want you to fuck me.” He mumbled. “Okay?”

Lance let out a soft noise as keith finished spoking. he groaned softly. "Of course.., I want you so very much.." He says,a smile rising rather quickly.

Keith leaned back into the pillows and smiled down at him slyly. “Come on up, sharpshooter. You always bragged about your skills in bed, so I’m expecting greatness.”


	6. Lance's Issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sex scenes. Uh...Yea. Smut. Early smut. Get ready..he's one horny bastard for most of these beginning chapters. We find out why later. Lance developments. Uh..yeah.

Keith breathed in long shaky breaths, grinding down against him in his lap and groaning. “Oooh...”

Lance groaned as he did his best not to buck up into Keith's hips. "..Keith, you feel incredible...so damn good.." He says, holding back a moan, still holding Keith's hands.

Keith panted heavily, eyes lidded as he stared down at Lance with a crooked grin. “Mhm... so good, baby.”

Lance briefly bucked his hips, quick to try and stop himself, bringing up a hand to cover his mouth, stifling a moan as it escaped. "Fuck..i-it feels too good, Keith.." He says softly, honestly a bit overwhelmed by the pleasure.

Keith shivered and rolled his hips with a long groan, eyes rolling back. “Uhhhn, Lance... never wanna stop.”

Lance, bit his lip, keeping his mouth covered, doing his best to stifle himself. He didn't want to upset Keith or risk angering Keith. "g-god, you're gonna make me cum again, i-if you keep it up.."

Keith wiggled his hips as he climbed off Lance’s lap, pulling the condom off and starting to suck his dick instead.

Lance moaned, throwing his head back against the bed, groaning in pleasure. "Fuck..! K-Keith, you're gonna make me cum..!" he warns, trying his best to hold back, starting to squirm.

Keith moaned around him enthusiastically and went down as far as he could, gagging while drool ran down his chin.

Lance groaned, as he came harshly his hips spasming. "F-Fuck...!" He groans, exhausted and overwhelmed with the pleasure.

Keith pulled off with a grin and swallowed his cum, licking his lips and sitting up. “That’s it, baby. Feel good?”

Lance flinched lightly as Keith pulled off, groaning, finally uncovering his mouth, his shoulders tensing slightly. "T-that felt amazing.." He says, honestly overwhelmed by the intense pleasure.

Keith climbed up the bed and collapsed next to him, panting with a grin. “I’ve... been missing out on a whole lot. I’m glad you’re my first.”

Lance groaned a bit, flushed, exhausted. "L-Like damn, You're the best I've ever had, and probably the only one I've actually deserved.." He says, panting softly, embarrassed.

Keith flushed and nudged him playfully, snorting. “I can’t the best you’ve ever had, I’m inexperienced!”

Lance shrugged. "You'd be surprised..b-but this is the first time with me on the receiving end.." He admits, flushed, giving a soft chuckle.

“Oh...” Keith mumbles. “So... you usually bottom?”

Lance gives a small nod. "..Well..yea. I'm not much of a top, even if I'm yknow..amazing at leading.." He says giving a chuckle, a smile rising again. "I've..never gotten that experience, of..getting the pleasure.." He says, shrugging slightly. "I mainly..just give the pleasure, t-this is new, ..and fucking hell it's amazing." He says, smiling.

Keith chuckled and buried his face in his pillow. “Well, uhm... do you wanna stay here with me until the rest of the team gets here later?”

Lance flushed, his smile dropping. "..The rest of the t-team..? ..Oh god, they're supposed to visit right?! Oh no..no no no.." he says, panic crossing his face, worry immediately taking hold. "What are we going to tell them? I mean sure it'll be amazing to see everyone but what if S-...o-oh..well okay, this-might..okay." He cut himself off, his mind rushing through several thoughts, a bit worried and slightly panicked that he would have to tell the one he feared..so soon.

Keith sat up with a surprised frown and cupped his cheeks. “Hey! Hey, look at me, chill out. Tell me what’s wrong, okay?”

Lance flinched slightly as Keith cupped his cheeks. He paused, rather quick to force himself to take a calming breath. "..o-okay..I-I'm sorry, I.... I just don't know how much Shiro..can remember. I..never got to ask him, yknow. I've..been avoiding talking to him." He admits, shrugging slightly, hesitant to even try to pull away from Keith. "..I don't know if he remembers, s-so I'm not sure how he's going to react to ..u-us.." He says, biting his lip.

“Remembers?” Keith the murmured, climbing into his lap and tugging up the covers to cradle Lance’s head to his chest. “He loves you and the rest of the team. No matter what happened, love. You have nothing to fear.”

Lance's shoulders raised as Keith climbed into his lap, relaxing a little. "..I-I..I just wish I knew if he remembers what..we did....without you" He says quietly. "..I kind of hope he doesnt, s-so I don't have to..worry about..me and you." He says, calming down as Lance relaxed into Keith.

Keith frowned softly and played with Lance’s hair. “You didn’t really do much without me, did you?”

Lance averted his eyes, relaxing further as Keith played with his hair. "..I-I mean,..I didn't know you liked me..and Shiro, wasn't...exactly himself either.." He says. "It wasnt exactly equal either, and I don't know if he remembers any of it.."

Keith flinched a little at the memory of fighting Shiro’s clone. I should have abandoned you, just like your parents did! he shakes himself out of the memory and smiled nervously instead.

Lance's shoulders raised a little. "..I-I don't know if ..our Shiro remembers any of that...a-and in a way, ...I don't want him to know what he did." He says, shrugging slightly. "..If he did remember, I doubt he would let me..do anything even remotely like this." He says, giving a soft slightly forced chuckle.

Keith frowned at him and sighed. “He doesn’t control you, Lance. He doesn’t have to let you do anything.”

Lance let out a soft breathe, tensing slightly. "..I-I know..He's not the same, He's different. And that's a good thing. Our Shiro, isnt..t-that Shiro. Our Shiro is good, He loves us. He..doesn't know what's happened while He..wasn't there. While that Other Shiro was..pretending to be ours... And that's a good thing too." he says, offering a small attempt at a smile. It..wasn't long before it fell as Lance averted his eyes, feeling bad for having even brought it up in his panic. "..I'm sorry.."

Keith guided his face back with a thumb on his chin, leaning in to kiss him softly. “How about you let me handle him?”

lance tensed slightly as Keith lifted his face, relaxing only as he kissed back, giving a soft nod. "..P-Please, do.. I..don't really want to ask him if..h-he remembers...I know it wasnt him, I know..he's not like that. And he never will hurt me again." He says relieved.

Keith gave him another kiss and sat back down next to him. “So can you stay here with me until then?”

Lance kissed back gently, calmed down. "Of course, ..I don't have anything better to do." he says, giving a smile.

Keith smiled back and eased him back into the covers. “So. How have you been? I missed you.”

Lance relaxed into the covers, happy to just be with keith. "..I missed you more. It's not like I've been up to really anything besides those pods..." He says, chuckling a little.

Keith kissed at Lance’s jaw with a smile and caressed his cheeks. “You’re so pretty. Did I ever tell you that?”

Lance flushed, tilting his head up a little for Keith. smiling warmly. "..O-Oh I know i'm pretty, but you're still handsomer.." He says.

Keith grinned at him and smirked playfully. “Oh yeah? We should have a beauty pageant.”

Lance shrugged. "Oh I know I'd win..I've got the more colorful closet though." He says giving a soft chuckle.

Keith snorted and sat up to pull off the covers and slide out of bed, only to stumble into the wall with shaky legs. “Oof!”

Lance chuckles as Keith went to get off the bed, frowning quick as he got up, sitting up, worried. "..Sit back down. I can get whatever you want, Keith. You're sore, arent you..?" He asks quickly, moving from under the comfortable blankets, worried about Keith.

Keith chuckled and leaned back into the bed. “Yeah, you kinda rearranged my guts.” He chuckled. “It’s normal for me, it’ll be fine in an hour.”

Lance moved to hug Keith further into the bed, pulling him back closer. "..I-I didn't mean to, but you were riding me so hard." he says giving a small smile. "I can grab some food, and water. And probably a couple wipes. Do we need anything else?" He asks, hugging Keith from behind on the bed, his shoulders raised a little.

Keith shook his head and leaned back into his chest with a happy sigh. “Nope, thank you!”

Lance pressed a kiss to Keith's neck. "..I love you. I won't be long, I'm promise." He says warmly, hugging Keith a little tighter before letting go to finally get off the bed. "I might have a cream to help soothe the soreness.." He says shrugging a little as he got dressed.

“Love you too.” Keith murmured, stretching and pulling down the covers to fan himself.

Lance nods as he smiled, heading out to the hall. He was careful as he closed the door. "Okay, I'll be back soon." Finally closing the door, heading to the kitchen, worried.


	7. Lance Hair Cut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things happen. Uh. ...Keith's acting weird? Normal? But ... Weird. It's okay, just keep reading..it gets better, I promise. We've got a lot to unpack between Keith's changes, and Lance's emotional issues that he hides behind soft smiles and warm happy looks..

A few of the maids in the kitchen blushed and scurried about to busy themselves when Lance entered the room, some chittering to each other.

Lance averted his eyes, moving to grab a tray first before going to the pantry, a slight blush on his cheeks, a small frown on his lips, almost pouting. He grabbed a couple fruits, and a few prepared packets of goo, worried about the options.. He knew what tasted good to his own palate...but that didnt mean Keith liked the same stuff. he choose a couple different options, and grabbed a few bowls, dumping the packets in, heating them up rather easily on the altean equivalent of an oven. He grabbed two cups of water.

One of the maids shuffled towards Lance nervously, fidgeting. “Do... do you need a cleanup in the guest’s room, sire?”

Lance tensed slightly, rather quick to turn towards the maid, giving a slightly forced but warm and rather convincing smile. "Nope, I've got it all under control..But if you could possibly fetch me a pack of cleaning wipes, that would definitely help." He says, resuming his best attempt at his suave behavior. despite the fact that his mind was racing with what would soon come, and his heart was beating practically out of his chest.

A couple maids snickered from across the kitchen, swatting each other with handkerchiefs. 

The maid smiled and nodded, turning to grab the wipes.

Lance smiled warmly. "Thank you,.. I hope you know that the room will be cleaned by hand, by me. You all won't have to worry about a thing, I can handle taking care of the room and of our handsome guest." He says, giving a charming smile, as he accepted the wipes from the maid as he gathered the warmed bowls of food, and cups, setting them on the tray. He tucked the wipes under one arm, picking up the tray. "I assure you, ..and warn you. Keep out of the guest's room until well after he is gone." He says.

“O-oh!” He maid stuttered and nodded quickly, bowing. “Yessir, I won’t even think about it!”

Lance smiled. "I just don't want any of you to see anything you..might not want to see. " he says giving a soft laugh. "The Guest just likes his privacy. I won't be in the pod room for a couple of days at least. So take a break, ..all of you. There shouldn't be many messes for you to take care of that are caused by myself."

The nurse handed him the wipes and scurried away, blushing deeply.

Lance smiled warmly, waving as the maid left, giving a soft chuckle, tucking the wipes under his arms. "I'll see you all soon. He says heading out, the tray of food bowls and drinks in hand.

Keith sat up with a hum when the door opened, rolling onto his stomach and pushing his hips in the air. “Come back for more?”

Lance opened the door, flushing, a small smile on his face. "..Oh you know it. ..I've got a couple different flavors, and some fruit. I..told the maids not to come over this way." he says, a little embarrassed as the door closed behind him. He brought over the tray of food, setting it down on the end of the bed. "..I don't want to risk hurt you any more, ..Im gonna go get you something soon, I've got a little pain cream that should help.."

"I don't need the cream." Keith hummed, crawling towards him and pulling him down into a kiss. "Can I wear your jacket?"

Lance relaxed a little as Keith pulled him down, kissing back deeply, draping his arms on Keith's shoulders. "Of course, .." He says giving a soft smile, moving to take off the jacket he had on.

Keith pulled it on and smiled, sniffing the hoodie. "Thanks. Smells like you."

Lance flushes lightly. "..I bet it smells more like us, than just me..." he says giving a soft chuckle, He leans down pressing a kiss to Keiths hair. "..come on, let's eat before it gets cold.." He says, smiling.

Keith curled up near the pillows and started scooping food goo into his mouth quietly.

Lance smiled as he climbed onto the bed, sitting a bit further down than Keith, more towards the middle of the bed, grabbing his own bowl. "..You've always been cute when you eat." he says giving a soft chuckle.

Keith flushed and looked up at him to stick his tongue out. "You look cute when you cum."

Lance flushed deeply, averting his eyes a nervous smile rising. "H-Hey..It's just you always look cute..and it's always been hard to just ignore.." He says, shutting himself up by shoving a spoonfull of goo into his mouth.

Keith chuckled and lifted his leg to poke Lance in the stomach. "You're blushing so easily, what's gotten into you?"

Lance's shoulders raised a little, defensively, keeping his eyes averted. "I-It's nothing, no reason.. ..the..the maids downstairs were..getting all flirty, and I..." He pouted his lips a little. "..It gets hard to keep my cool when I've got you up here, and they're..asking questions.." He says, the flush still prevalent on his cheeks.

Keith leaned closer and frowned at him, kissing the top of his head. "What kind of questions?"

ChrisLoveit09/15/2019  
Lance remained flushed. "..They wanted to know...if we needed cleaning in your room. I-I..think they heard us." He says, giving a nervous chuckle.

Keith leaned back in surprise. "Shit," he mumbled, blushing. "Sorry."

"..N-No no, it's not your fault. It's not that bad either..I warned them to not come here, or clean in here..s-so we have to clean up our own messes...I made sure they won't disturb us." He says, shrugging a bit.

Keith chuckled and started biting his nails. "Is it weird that that kinda turns me on? Like, if someone walked in on you fucking me..."

Lance flushed deeper. "really..? I mean it's..not that weird, but it's..k-kind of off for me. I..don't want to make anyone else want you...cause you're no ones..but mine." He says, a small hesitant smile on his lips.

Keith grinned. “Exactly. If anyone saw you fucking me they’d understand that I was yours forever.”

Lance frowned. "..I don't want anyone to see how pretty you are, ..especially when I'm fucking you. " He says annoyed.

Keith chuckled and shut his eyes, sighing. “But what if I wanna be slutty?” He teased.

Lance pouted a little. "..I mean, you..never really have acted..slutty unless you were..like just a little earlier. I...wouldn't mind us trying different places, ...o-or showing off our relationship. I don't know how I'll feel having other's..seeing you naked.." He says, averting his eyes again.

Keith poked his side and smirked knowingly. "What if we're just super loud, instead? I have a lot of ideas I want to try with you."

Lance tensed a little as he was poked, biting his lip briefly as he listened to Keith. "..I ..can handle being loud...but what kind of ideas..? "

"Like... you could tie me up. Or try choking me or something kinky like that, y'know?" He shrugged.

Lance's cheeks darkened once more, his throat going almost immediately dry, averting his eyes again. "...I-I..I'd...like to try some of that.." he admits, hesitantly.

Keith smiled smugly and leaned closer to nip at his ear. "Yeah? You wanna fuck me so hard from behind that I can't see straight? Make me squirt? I've never squirted before, you could be my first."

Lance flushed deeper if that was even possible, squeaking. "Keith! ..I-I.." He stuttered, honestly a little shocked. "..I-I mean uh..I'd love to make you squirt.." He says, trying to seem calm..though honestly already overwhelmed by Keith simply flirting.. It wasn't like keith, to be so forward.

Keith chuckled and leaned into his arms to hug him instead, nudging his chin with the top of his head. “You’re adorable.”

Lance hugged back, relaxing. "..You're fucking one hell of a mess.." he says softly, giving a soft chuckle. "..And I love my mess, and I..I can't wait to make you squirt." He says smiling warmly, still rather flushed.

Keith laughed into his neck and blew a raspberry into his skin. “Me either!”

Lance flushed a bit deeper. "We should finish eating..." He says giving a soft laugh. "Don't want to continue while we're still..kinda out of energy." He says smirking softly.

Keith leaned back with a smile and started eating his food slowly. “What should we talk about?”

Lance flushed still, shrugged. "....w-well..How have the missions been going lately..? ..still kind of blah..?" He says, hesitant as he continued to eat, giving a warm smile.

Keith nodded and spooned the goo into his mouth with a hum. “Yeah! It’s getting so boring, I’m super lucky Kolivan let me come.”

Lance laughed softly. "I bet. It's..been getting the same here. It's super lucky that Coran decided to invite you..I was worried that I wouldn't see you for another couple months...to see you.."

Keith finished his food and started wiping his mouth, climbing out of bed to get dressed. “Super lucky.”

Lance smirked. "you're not getting dressed yet, are you...? ..I havent had the chance to wipe you down..." He says, pouting a little

“It’s fine,” Keith nodded towards a wet spot on the sheets. “I uhm... it kinda... while you were gone.” He mumbled.

Lance flushed deeply, frowning. "Oh...s-sorry, I did bring wipes, though.., if we need them again.." he says, averting his eyes, finishing up his bowl, cleaning rather quickly.

Keith climbed back into bed when he finished changing. “Your hair is growing out a little, huh?”

lance shrugged. "..I mean, I..kind of like it this way. It's..starting to look like what yours used to.." He says, giving a soft chuckle.

Keith grinned and gave him a hug. “Yeah, kinda! I’m gonna call you mullet.”

Lance smirked. "I mean look at you, you've grown out your mullet. It's not like we've had access to scissors here.. ..I mean technically I have lasers, but they're not that precise...and they can't compare to my moms.." He says, flushing slightly, hugging Keith back.

Keith gasped and leaned back. “Your mom has lasers!?” He squeaked.

Lance laughed. "NO! But she knows how to cut hair, I-I meant it can't compare to having my mom do my hair, ever couple weeks. I've..just been using the lasers to cut off my split ends when I'm bored..But that's about it.." He says, flushed.

Keith grinned and grabbed his shoulders excitedly. “Can I cut your hair!? Pleeeaaase!?”

Lance bit his lip, hesitating a little. "..I-I mean, i could really use a cut.. I've been growing it out since I can't exactly..go home whenever I want." he says, shrugging a little. "w-why not!?" He says, smiling.

“Do you want it short again or just a trim?” Keith asked excitedly, bouncing on the bed.

Lance shrugs. "..I guess whatever.." he says giving a soft cchuckle. "With my hair being so long, I could definitely go for a shorter cut." He says smiling.

Keith jumped up to grab a pair of scissors and snip them teasingly. If I mess up we can ask Coran for help.”

Lance tensed. "mess up.. ? oh god..I doubt I"d trust Coran to even touch my hair. I'd rather go home and get it fixed." He says chuckling.

Keith laughed and kissed his shoulders. “I’m gonna try and cut it short, okay?”

Lance took a deep breath, relaxing his shoulders a litle. "..Okay, j-just try not to cut me in the process.." He says, a slight flush and worried expression on his face

Keith started snipping at his hair carefully, first cutting off larger chunks and then shaping them up.

Lance did his best to stay still as Keith cut his hair, biting his lip as chunks were falling off. He was worried how it would look.

After a long ten minutes, Keith sat back to admire his work. “It’s... not bad, actually! It looks just like it used to be!”

Lance hesitated as Keith finished, staying still. "..really...? Is it actually okay looking? He asks, honestly wanting to go find a mirror right then and there. He knew the attached bathroom likely had a mirror.

“Yeah!” Keith laughed, grinning. “I’m pretty proud of myself. Go look in the mirror, sharpshooter.”

Lance smiled, getting up to go check in the mirror, flushing a bit as he noticed, that..it indeed was almost the same length it used to be. He chuckled softly. "..Oh, wow..you really did do a good job." he says, the smile widening.

Keith followed behind him and set his chin on his shoulder, face twitching for a moment before returning to a calm smile. “Thanks.”

Lance leans his head a little over for keith. "I can't believe you know how to cut hair, wow.." he says, briefly checking if it was even.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these beginning chapters are...kinda bad? we were setting up a plot we didn't know how to work to. It really does get better. After the big major arc wrap up, and we realize why Keith's being...weird.


	8. The Tension is Rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has to meet the other paladins. He has to face Shiro, and the others. He has to be happy enough for Keith, even if he feels like he's shredding inside. Even if he's absolutely horrified at talking to Shiro..

Keith leaned in to give her a friendly kiss on the cheek. “Well it’s probably the best thing I’ve ever tasted, literally, so good job!” He laughed.

Lance averted his eyes a little, keeping them not directly on Shiro, but close enough that he was ..parallel to Shiro. He gave his usual charming smile as best he could under the situation, and a short wave, still being smothered by Pidge. "I missed you tons, Pidge. How's earth? How's Matt?" He asks. 

Romelle laughed, happy that she managed to get the texture right. "Finally! See, Hunk! I told you someone would like it this way!" She says, cheerfully. Hunk made a brief face. "It's not sweet to me, it's like sour." He complains, pouting comedically before smiling. "It's so good to see you, Keith, Lance! It's been so long..!"

“He’s amazing, he misses your dumb ass, though.” Pidge pouted. 

Shiro came up to Keith and wrapped him in a tight hug. “Hey, Kid.” He murmured appreciatively.

Lance sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Not much I can do when I've still got so much work to do here. I'd love to come visit..but with Shiro taking..-" Lance hesitated for but half a second as he noticed Shiro hugging Keith, averting his eyes back to pidge, ttrying to get the image out of his head...that foul image that resurfaced was too painful for him to process. His smile fell as he was quick to continue. "With Atlas, being on the move all the time, and me being here, having to keep working on my little..pet projects, I don't have time to video chat like I used to." He says, a smaller attempt at the smile returning.

Pidge glanced over to where he looked and frowned, crossing her arms. “Is everything okay, man?”

"What..? O-Oh, uh yea. Everything's fine. ..Keith just got here a little early, and I got to..have a cool little sit down with him. Showed him my stupid projects." He says, shrugging a little, trying to play it off, a hardly noticable flush crossing his cheeks. "How's your dad, I bet Sam's having fun working alongside Slav." He says giving a slightly forced chuckle.

Pidge watched him for a moment before glancing at Keith and gasping excitedly. “No way! You guys finally got together!?” She whispered.

Lance flinched slightly, tensing up a little. "No, n-no.. We..." he glanced over at keith. "L-Look, just stay quiet. I don't want anyone else to know.." He says having lowered his voice. "..I don't know how Shiro will react if he knows I'm ..yknow with keith." He says, his cheeks reddening a bit more. He was annoyed...but afraid. If Shiro did come to know..would he be angry with Lance..? ..would he even be able to recall what happened..the memories of his clone.. of what he did to Lance..? It worried him.

Keith sat down to start eating and talking with Shiro, playing with a button on Shiro’s jacket while he explained what it meant. 

“Dude, he’s wearing your jacket, of course you hooked up!” Pidge whispered. “I won’t tell anyone. Who bottomed?”

"H-He's ..borrowing it...It doesn't mean we hooked up, I'm not telling you!" he says, embarrassed. "J-Just shut up about it. I don't..I don't want to talk about it.." He says, flushed. "J-Just..come with me, I wanna..I want to show you something." He says, honestly..unable to keep watching Shiro.. He felt even uncomfortable being around Shiro.. but he knew Shiro couldnt hurt him..right? Shiro wasnt that shiro.. He needed to get over that stupid fears.

Pidge perked up and followed him out of the room, hands in her pockets. “You have a hickey, too, so of course you hooked up. Congrats.”

Lance averted his eyes, bringing an arm up to cover his neck. "..Shut up.." He says, hesitantly. "I...I wanted to show you..m-my pet project." He says, hesitantly. He was embarassed, he knew it was probably just pennies to Pidge..but to him it felt like something she might be interested in. He headed towards the Pod bay, where the healing pods were set up, pieces everywhere.. He wanted to show her his progress..

Pidge smiled and looked around with a proud huff. “Not bad, sharpshooter. Do they work?”

Lance's small smile returned. "Almost. Only have one fully working, ..and it doesnt work for humans, not until the final kinks are worked out. But I healed Keith, ..even if we had to deal..w-with some side effects." HE says, averting his eyes.

Pidge smiled and led him back to the dining room, where everyone was eating their dinner and talking. “Go sit with your boyfriend.”

Lance flushed, briefly scolding Pidge. "H-Hey..He's .." he shut up, giving a slightly forced smile as he headed over anyways towards Keith, sitting down, noting Shiro's position at the table, giving the room another smile, it settling a little as he tried to relax into his seat next to Keith, relieved he still had a bit of his older style. At least that could cover for him.. right?

Keith turned to Lance with a smile and reached out to poke a piece of biscuit at his mouth. “Taste what Romelle made.”

Lance flushed, opening his mouth, a bit embarrassed, honestly..quite surprised at the taste. "Woah..! That's really good." He says, a bit shocked. "Romelle, that's amazing!" He says commenting quickly giving her a true smile.

Keith grinned and turned to Romelle to start chatting again, grabbing Lance’s hand under the table and squeezing it.

Lance flushed slightly, smiling warmly at the others, moving to eat a bit more. His mind continued to drift back to the image from earlier..and the other images. He kept eating smaller of the finger foods.

Keith stroked his knuckles softly, smiling over at him. “You almost done, babe?” He asked quietly.

Lance flushed a little deeper, frowning a little, shrugging. He was a bit embarrassed at hearing Keith call him babe. He swallowed softly, giving a small nod, worried if Shiro happened to overhear.

Shiro glanced between them and gave a knowing smile, nudging Keith under the table and giving him a thumbs up with a proud grin.

Lance averted his eyes, frowning a bit. He was worried, though a little relieved that Shiro didn't seem angry. Maybe..he didn't remember. Maybe his fears were unfounded. His shoulders raised a little, finishing up eating.

When Keith finished eating, he smiled and collected his and Lance’s plates and brought them to the sink.

Lance got up, accepting the other's dirty plates as they finished, trying to remain cheerful even as he headed for the kitchen. He was rather desperate to escape the unfounded tension. He was desperate to know if Keith talked to Shiro about it...

Keith met him in the kitchen with a kiss to his cheek. “So.” He started cheerfully. “You still up for what we talked about earlier?”

Lance smiles at the kiss, relaxing a little. "Yea, I am..b-but how did Shiro take it..? ..He knows right? He knows now..about us..? Is he really okay with it?" he asks, quick in his speech, a bit nervous. He knew even if Shiro didn't like their relationship, it wouldn't stop him from loving Keith..but he still wanted to know.

Keith frowned at him nervously. “Lance, I... I used to talk to him about you. About my crush on you. Of course he’s fine with it.”

Lance was quick to seem unsure. "..s-so Shiro knew about..you towards me..a-and Pidge knew about ..me towards you, ..We..I guess were too blind to see it.." He says, giving a short shrug, frowning, averting his eyes. "..I..I'm happy Shiro at least can't..seem to remember. It means, I..don't have to be worried about him. " he says shrugging briefly, offering a small smile as he returned his eyes to Keith.

Keith sighed and reached out to touch his shoulder. “I know Kuron hurt you. He hurt me too- in so many ways. But that’s not him.”

Lance shrugged a little. "..I know he didn't hurt me nearly as bad as you..at least mine was mostly mental." He says, giving a soft attempt at a chuckle. "..I know it's not him, ...It's our Shiro. and I know he won't hurt me at all, ..hell even when I sparred with Shiro he went easy on me.." He says, frowning. "..I know I shouldn't be thinking about Shiro, ...and I know I can't even compare Kuron..to Shiro..but I still..yknow...have that fear whenever I make eye contact with him. I remember everything Kuron said to me..."

Keith cupped his cheeks and leaned in to kiss him softly. “Hey, eyes on me. Everyone loves you.”

Lance relaxed as Keith cupped his cheeks, quick to kiss back softly. He was relieved..at least Keith knew and understood Kuron's effects on the team. "I know you love me.." He says giving a small smile. "and that's all I need.." he says.

Keith smiled back at him and bumped their foreheads together before setting the dishes down and kissing him again.

Lance smiled, setting down his dishes into the sink as Keith did so, turning back to wrap his arms around Keith's waist, kissing back gently but passionately. He knew and was relieved that even though Pidge still called him names..that it was out of love. ..that Shiro had none of Kuron's memories, ..that Hunk and Romelle were still having such an amazing time cooking together. ..and now, he could be with Keith. He...could be happy too. It was relieving.

Keith threaded his hands through Lance’s hair, leaning back into the counter and sighing through his nose. All he’d wanted to do for the last five years, it was finally happening.

Lance relaxed as Keith kissed him deeper, groaning softly into the kiss, his arms sliding up and under his own jacket. He could focus on keith...and only on Keith. ..and it felt so good that he could pick Keith as his sole attention hog. he smiled into the kiss.

Keith scooted back so he was sitting on the counter, swinging his legs a little as he leaned down to kiss Lance. “Love you,” He whispered against his lips.

Lance laughed softly, smiling as Keith moved onto the counter, continuing the kiss after a moment. "..I love you, more.." He says softly.

Keith leaned down to kiss him again, only to choke on his breath and sit back up quickly when Hunk and Romelle came running in.

Lance flinched slightly as Hunk and Romelle came in, his cheeks flushing quickly. He was quick to put back up a slightly nervous smile. "Hey guys." He says, taking a quick step back from the counter, trying to seem nonchalant..though clearly the flush didn't help the situation.

Hunk stopped and glanced between them before grinning knowingly at Romelle. “Nah, it’s okay. You guys need your... privacy.” He chuckled, ushering her back out.

Lance tensed, frowning deeply. "W-wait..! We..u-uh..did you guys need anything..?" he asks, honestly a little worried that their makeout session might have ruined the dinner..

Keith burst out laughing and slapped a hand over his mouth. “Uh... yeah, we should probably go to one of our rooms.”

He flinched slightly when Keith burst out laughing, quick to flash him an embarrassed smile. "Y-yea...we should go to my room ..it's bigger." He says, giving a soft chuckle. He was worried about upsetting the others..but he wanted to spend time with keith..He knew Coran could probably handle the situation. ...Lance'd clean Keith's room later anyways.

Keith hopped off the counter and started towards the hall. “You’re gonna have to show me where it is.”

Lance smiled as he led Keith out of the kitchen, and to the hallway. Avoiding the dining hall they'd previously been in, noting that..it felt rude that they were leaving their friends..but Lance really ...just wanted to spend time with Keith..alone. He gestured. "It's not that far..Actually pretty close to the Pod bay.." he says, giving a soft chuckle. "..It's why I've been sleeping on the floor in there for nearly a week." He says laughing softly.

Keith frowned and slung an arm over Lance’s shoulders to kiss his cheek. “That’s not healthy. At least set up a little bed out there.”

Lance shrugged. "...at least I'm still getting sleep..when I first started learning the altean books to rebuild these pods from scratch, I could barely understand Altean writing...now I can practically write a book myself." He says smiling. "...I've..come a long way, but I did sacrifice tons of sleep for it...almost as much as our first...couple weeks away from Earth.."

Keith chuckled in agreement and rolled his eyes. “Phew, those were the days. Even after the first week I got about three to five hours of sleep every night.”

Lance shrugged. "At least now I'm still eating and drinking, trying to sleep... Back then..I spent a ton of time of my appearance, only to still look like the walking dead in the mornings anyways." He says smirking a little as they headed towards Lance's bedroom..one he hadn't seen in days. "..And even when you were tired you were still more awake than me." He says smiling.

Keith shrugged and hesitated at the door, biting his lip and sighing. “I had to be awake, yknow? When Shiro disappeared, I... I had to take over wether I liked it or not.”

Lance moved over to the door, frowning as he wrapped an arm around Keith. "..I know, I found you all the time in the training room while I walked around..waiting for my face to dry. I was worried about you, but..I didn't dare stop you..not with all that anger you kept showing." He says, frowning softly. "..You did what you had to, ..we all did." He says, hugging Keith to him before leading him inside to the pale gold and baby blue room. The wallpaper a mix of blue flowers with golden petals. It..honestly seemed a little cheesy, but the bed more than made up for it. Circular in shape and larger than even a queen size bed. Lance had taken it upon himself to mount several long strips of fabrics to the ceiling and drape them down to the outsides of the bed. The strips, being several shades of blues, reds, and purples. ..another of his little pet projects. Sadly, the rest of the room..seemed quite empty, besides a few photos of Juneberries, and of course a small photo display, that every few minutes flicked through the photos that they had taken over the years..dating back to the one he had of his family, ..straight to the one He, and the rest of the team Voltron had taken roughly two years ago at their last get together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No. In early chapters you will not know the full extent of what Shiro did to Lance. There is more..and it's coming. I'm sorry this has taken so long. But we're working through these shit beginning chapters as quickly as possible to get you to the current timeline(..quite a ways away)


	9. Say my name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut, uh... Controlling? bad summary.

Keith paused in the doorway and stared, turning around in a slow circle as he took in the room. "Lance..." He started quietly. "It's so pretty in here." He gushed, walking to the bed and sliding a hand down a long ribbon.

Lance flushed slightly as he headed over to the bed. "..It's not that bad, ..I'm still kind of working on figuring out how to fill this place." He shrugged. "..maybe..with us..?" he says, smiling a little.

Keith blushed as he looked up with wide eyes. "I'd... love to." He murmured, shuffling closer to kiss him slowly.

Lance smiles, moving closer to the bed, leaning down a little over keith, kissing back slowly, honestly overjoyed.. He could finally start to decorate the room with things he loved..instead of things that just brought sad memories, or..at the very least matched his color scheme.

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance's waist, flipping them around so he could dominate the kiss.

Lance smiled as they were flipped, honestly loving that he could even be under Keith, moaning softly into the kiss as Keith took over the kiss.

Keith pushed him back into the bed gently, gasping into his mouth and pulling back. "Your bed is so soft!"

Lance smirked as they seperated. "I had to change out the original mattress, this one's definitely better.. God imagine the things we could do to this bed." He says, a soft laugh leaving him as he brought him arms up to wrap around Keith's waist, honestly a little out of breath..

Keith flushed at his comment and started to pull off his shirt. "Can I give you another blowjob?"

Lance's smile widened. "If you want to, sure.." He says, giving a soft chuckle. "..You know I love you, right..?" He says, moving to pull off his own pants.

Keith smiled at him nervously and helped him with his underwear, licking his lips and stroking him slowly. "I love you too."

Lance flushed a little deeper, groaning softly, helping to pull down his own underwear, moving to tug off his shirt. He moaned lightly as he was stroked. "..fuck that feels good.."

Keith smiled up at him slyly and started licking up his shaft with a hum. "You like that?"(edited)

Lance flushed. "O-Of course.." He says, groaning softly. "...God it feels amazing whenver you touch me.." He says, smiling.

Keith grinned and started sliding his length into his mouth with a moan, closing his eyes.

Lance moaned, resisting the urge to thrust up and into keith's mouth, upon feeling the vibrations. "F-Fuck..! that feels amazing, Keith.."

Keith smiled around him and grabbed his hands, stilling and guiding his hands to his hair.

Lance bit his lip, letting his hands grab carefully into Keith's hair, not pulling. he was embarrassed, and honestly didn't want to risk pulling or tugging Keith's hair..unless Keith was into that sort of thing.

Keith huffed and pushed himself further down gagging and fluttering his eyelids as he patted Lance’s hands.

Lance groaned, instinctively moving to tug slightly at Keith's hair. "fuck..! That feels incredible..!"

Keith groaned around him and started bobbing his head, eyes rolling shut when he gagged again.

Lance flinched, tugging a little again. "damn, keith.. you're incredible when you do that.." He says, adoring the sensation. He was desperate for more of that pleasure. Letting go as Keith gagged. He was quickly getting close.

Keith pulled off of him with a gasp and climbed up him to kiss him. “You gonna finish what you started?”

Lance groaned as keith pulled off, moving to quickly grab him and yank him close and into the kiss. "O-Oh lord, you know I want to.." He says, lowering his voice.

Keith groaned and tangled his hands through Lance’s hair. “Love it when you talk like that.”

Lance groaned, his hands drifting down to Keith's ass. "I need you to get on your knees on the bed, ...right now." He says, smirking softly, adoring the feeling of Keith's hands in his hair.  
Keith shivered and crawled into the bed, pulling his pants and underwear down as he got onto his knees.

Lance smirked as he moved to get up, moving behind Keith, scooting onto the bed behind Keith. He let his hands carefully slide across Keith's ass, the hand sliding between keith's cheeks carefully for only a moment before lowering to be between keith's slit, gentle as he felt around his labia. "...You're still filled with me,..it's not that warm anymore though, huh." he says softly, a small smile on his lips as his fingers explored Keith's labia.

Keith groaned into the pillow and glanced behind him, swaying his hips. “You gonna make me scream like you promised?”

Lance smirked softly. "..Oh you know I will be..But we can't have you being too loud, otherwise the other's might hear you.." He says, giving a soft chuckle as he carefully pressed a finger into Keith's vagina.

Keith grunted in the back of his throat and pushed his hips back. “I’m not gonna break, Lance. Go harder. Talk dirty.”

Lance laughed softly. "And you think it's not torture if I take you slow and steady?" He says smirking. "Trust me, baby you're going to be a dirty, sweaty, disgusting filled mess by the time I'm done fucking you." He says giving a soft chuckle, pressing in a second finger, stretching Keith rather quickly.

Keith let a whimper rise from his throat, reaching between his legs to rub a hand over his clit in tight circles. His hips bucked with a load moan. “Ooh, baby.”

Lance smirked. "Oh I know, doesnt it feel good. I've been looking forward to fucking you. Hell since before dinner." He says, smiling a bit as he pulled his fingers out, sliding a thumb up along Keith's crack.

Keith choked out a long groan, eyes rolling up a little and growling. “Put it in already, Lance!”

Lance chuckled softly, moving in to grind against Keith, careful not to enter. "And who gave you permission to give the damn orders?" heasks, raising an eyebrow. "Fine..But only because you're too hot to resist." He says, grabbing a condom, sliding it on.

Keith wiggled his hips invitingly, pulling a pillow under his waist to keep him supported. “Pull my hair.”

Lance smirked, leaning over Keith, pushing his way into Keith rather roughly, his hand sliding up Keith's back and to his hair, first only tugging lightly. "You know I don't want to hurt you, but I'm still going to fuck you so hard.."

“Uhnngh, Lance!” Keith yelled in pleasure, his moan trailing off into light laughing. “Fuuuuuck.”

Lance laughed softly, pulling out a little only to thrust back in just as hard into Keith, managing to pull on Keith's hair as he did so. "You keep talking like that and I'll just keep fucking you harder." he says, smirking, his cheeks rather flushed.

Keith lowered his face into the pillows, glancing behind him to watch with cut off gaps. “Lance- hah! Please, ngh- give it to me!”

Lance smirked, starting a pace as he continued to push in rather roughly into Keith, hardly pausing between thrusts, every two or three in, he would tug on Keith's hair. "Oh I know you want it. You're not going to be able to walk after this, not when I'm fucking done with you."

Keith twisted sideways so he could look at him, biting his lip and sniffing a little. “F-u-u-uuuuck, Lance...” he moaned, voice punched out with every thrust.

Lance smirked, leaning down over Keith, giving another short tug as he continued the pace. "..Fuck you're just too hot, Keith..you feel so damn good.." He says, setting a litter of kisses on Keith's shoulders and back.

“You feel so- hng!” Keith paused to wheeze. “Deep! Fuck, fuck me harder!”

Lance gave a short yank on Keith's hair, laughing softly as he fucked Keith harder, speeding up the pace as he began to set little bites on Keith's neck.

Keith cried out as his orgasm suddenly hit him, entire body shivering violently as he came, eyes rolling back into his head.

Lance groaned as he felt Keith tighten, continuing to thrust, pulling less on Keith's hair, still trying to support his own weight using the one hand and his knees.

Keith whimpered loudly, fisting his hands in the sheets and crying out loudly. "Oh fuck, Lance!"

Lance smirked as he kept moving. "Hey, I never said we're going to end there..you wanted me to fuck you into the sheets, and that's just what I'm going to do." He says chuckling softly, honestly growing a bit close himself.

Keith reached back to spread his ass cheeks apart shakily, moaning from the back of his throat. "T-Tell me how I look."

Lance groaned, releasing Keith's hair, taking hold of keiths hands, pulling them from his cheeks, fully well knowing the dangers of the situation. "You look like a fucking hot wreck. All sweaty, dirty, ..fucking h-hot.." He says, groaning as he continued to fuck into Keith rather roughly.

Keith groaned loudly as his head rocked forwards with every thrust. "I want your fuckin- ughnn- cummm..."

Lance groaned as he kept fucking into Keith, pushing his way into keith, beginning to slow down, losing his speed as he closed in. "I bet you fucking do..b-beg for it, fucking slut."

Keith tightened up in surprise as his second orgasm hit, lifting one of his legs shakily when he felt himself start squirting a little on the sheets.

Lance moaned as he held himself at the brink, doing his best to hold out, fucking hard into Keith. He knew very well that he wouldnt just be able to cum only once. He moved up releasing Keiths hands, his hand sliding up Keiths back to tug at Keiths hair

Keith let his head roll backwards with the force, eyes rolling back in bliss. "Cum in me already."

Lance moaned, smirking as he let loose into Keith, tugging once more at Keiths hair as he came roughly into Keith, his hips shaking as he did so.

Keith sighed in relief, pulling Lance down into a tight hug. “Ughh... yes.”

Lance groaned as he finally came to a stop, hugging Keith to him. "Fuck you're so warm.." He says softly.

Keith nodded in response, kissing his shoulder absently and groaning. “‘M tired.”

Lance sighed as he slowly collapsed down besides Keith, exhausted himself, ...but still quite hard within Keith.. "..s-same."

Keith moaned quietly as he moved. "Are- are you still hard?" He whispered.

Lance's cheeks flushed, frowning. "..u-uh..yea, sorry.." He says, averting his eyes, trying to keep himself still, though desperately wanting to buck into Keith again.

Keith buried his face into the pillows. “You should t...take off the condom and fuck me raw.”

Lance tensed slightly. "..Keith you know I-I can't....We can't risk you getting pregnant.." he says, briefly wincing as his hips spasmed, unintentionally rocking into Keith. "..Trust me I'd love to..but I can't.."

Keith groaned weakly, frowning over his shoulder. "I called Kolivan, he said I'll be fine."

Lance groaned slightly. "..H-Hes fine with you being out of commission for two..maybe three y-years..?" He asks, raising an eyebrow, slowly starting to pull out of Keith.

Keith groaned and yanked him back, kissing his shoulder. "No, he said I won't get pregnant."

Lance flinched slightly as he was yanked back, groaning softly. "......I-I..mean, if you won't get pregnant..t-then I don't really see why not.. though it'd make cleanup better.." He says, giving a short noise of pleasure as he briefly bucked up into keith.

Keith bit his lip and wiggled away for a moment, pulling the condom on and sinking back down onto him with a loud groan. "Oh yesssss!"

Lance smirked a little, groaning as Keith pushed back onto him. "Fuck..! K-Keith I'm still sensitive..!" He says, his face flushed deeply.

Keith wiggled his hips against Lance’s front, biting his lip and grinning. “I know,” He panted.

Lance groaned, tensing slightly, his face flushed, He briefly bucked up into Keith. "Damn you're warm.."

Keith moaned weakly and buried his face into the pillows again. “Fuck me.”

Lance groaned as he bucked into Keith again. "F-Fuck, you're way too hot..I'm gonna fill you again and again, at this rate.." He says, slowly moving to push himself back into Keith, starting another pace.

Keith let himself roll onto his stomach, ass in the air with a long moan. "Say my name, baby."

Lance groaned as he bucked into Keith harder. His voice was breathy, panting as he resumed the pace once Keith moved. "K-keith..f-fuck, keith..."

Keith grabbed onto the sheets and moaned shakily, reaching beneath himself to rub his clit in tight circles.

Lance moaned, biting his lip to try and stop himself, fucking harshly into Keith, knowing fully well he was about to come deep inside of Keith.

Keith let his eyes roll back as he screamed in pleasure, doubling forwards as he came hard.

Lance groaned as he came harshly into Keith, his eyes shutting tightly in pleasure, overwhelmed with the intense feelings as they hit him.

Keith gasped at the feeling and grinned deliriously, laughing. “Fuuuuck!”

Lance's face was deeply flushed, overwhelmed and panting as he finally came to a stop, exhausted and finally going soft within Keith as his body began to relax. "F-Fuck, you're too soft.."

Keith wiggled away from him and sat up, pressing a hand over his entrance to keep the come inside. “Feel good, big guy?”

Lance tensed slightly as Keith pulled away, quick to bite his lip to hold back a groan. "That..was fucking incredible. I didn't know i-it'd feel that good..! " He says, an exhausted smile plain upon his face.

Keith leaned down to kiss him, sliding out of bed and walking to the bathroom to wash up.

Lance was quick to kiss back, relaxing a little, practically collapsed on his side.. "..Can you handle it alone, or..do you want some help..?" He asks, offering a smile.

“I’m fine,” Keith called from the bathroom as he washed up, staring in the mirror with a small sigh when he was finished.

"Okay..I'm gonna clean the room,.." He got up after a few moments, a small smile on his lips as he began to change the sheets, knowing he would have to set them to wash soon. He didn't want to risk one of the maids even coming into the room.

Keith slipped back out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom, pulling one of Lance’s jackets on.

Lance smiled a little as he saw Keith wearing his jacket, taking the blanket and stuff off the bed. "..Feeling a little fresher..?" He says, his cheeks a bit flushed as he finally stopped to pull on his own pair of boxers.

“Mhm.” Keith agreed and fell into bed with Lance. “Hmm. We should go get breakfast.”

Lance shrugged. "yea..we should. B-But I think maybe we should finish changing the sheets. I need to get these dirty ones to the washer." He says, smiling a little.

Keith leaned over the bed to fold the dirty sheets quickly. “Here, they look clean this way. The maids can get them.”

Lance smiled. "..works for me..we'll leave them in the hall. i told them to not come inside the room....I didn't want them walking in on us.." he says chuckling, his cheeks flushing a little

Keith walked over to the dresser and kissed his cheek on the way, grabbing a pair of Of shorts.

Lance smiled as he grabbed his shirt off the floor, where it'd been thrown tugging it on. He was quick to tug on his jeans as well.

Keith walked towards the door and tied his hair into a ponytail, yawning. “What do you wanna do today?”

Lance shrugged. "Honestly...I don't care what we do. There's so much we could do. We could..go pick juneberries..? or keep working on the pods, or ..whatever's fine with me, hell I just want to be with you today." He says, giving a soft chuckle.

Keith grinned back at him and stroked his hair. “I wanna pick Junnesberries with you, Yeah!” He cheered.

Lance chuckled warmly, smiling happy. "We can walk along where the new statue is..! We planted some there a couple weeks ago, they should be blooming about now.." He says, his cheeks flushing from happiness.

Keith grimaced a little and nodded quickly. “Hey. I love you.” He murmured, pulling Lance into a tight hug by the door of the kitchen.

Lance hugged back, tucking his head briefly into Keith's shoulder. "..I know, I love you more." He says, smiling, giving a short chuckle. He was surprised to see the kitchen was clean, and empty...considering their guests last night.

“Nah,” Keith mumbled, running his fingers through Lance’s hair. “I love you more. Actually.”

Lance sighed softly as he felt keith's hands in his hair. "..that ..feels amazing.." he says flushing giving a soft chuckle. "..You do know how incredibly hot you are, like..all the time, right..?"

Keith blushed and bit his lip, cocking his head in confusion. “No? Nobody has called me hot before.”

Lance's eyebrows lowered. ".Really..? Well then I'll tell you, all the time..! Cause you're incredibly hot, all the time."

Keith snorted and rolled his eyes, titling his head back to yawn loudly. “Where is everyone?”

Lance shrugged. "..Probably with Coran or something...What do you wanna eat..?" he asks, finally parting from keith, heading over to the counter, honestly wondering what he could even eat.

Keith shrugged and sat at the counter with a small wince. “Oof. I’m kinda sore. Do you guys have bagels?”

Lance nodded quickly. "Yep, and five types of ..well not really creamcheese, but like a spread. " He says, chuckling softly as he headed over, tapping a cabinet, it sliding open. Lance tugged out a small box of bagels. "I actually made a couple the day before you arrived..they should still be fresh.." He says, smiling giving a soft wink back at Keith as he brought over the box, several types of bagels within the box.

Keith chuckled and reached out to take Lance’s hand. “I actually wanted to ask you something really important.”

Lance's eyebrow raised, giving a warm smile. "Sure, what'd you wanna ask...?" he says, giving a soft squeeze to Keith's hand.

“I’m leaving the Blade pretty soon to start a refuge program with Lotor’s ex generals, but you already know that. I... uhm... since there wouldn’t be any fighting or training or anything I- do you wanna come?”

Lance frowned. "...But..what about the pods...? ..I mean, maybe I could work on it remotely but..I'd have to be back and forth for installations.." He says, worried about the potential for having to drop his work on making portable healing pods accessible for every planet.

Keith waved a hand and sighed nervously. “Not right away, but like- eventually. When you’re done your work...?”

Lance shrugged. "..Of course,...I just..don't want to put my work on the back burner, you know. I love you, and I do want to be with you, but I...you know the Universe..everyone else comes before me.." He says offering a slightly sad smile. "...If I can get the pods to be portable, and installed by the alteans..or even just to have them be portable, and deliverable and installed by Team Atlas..I know I could join you." He says softly, moving around the table, closer to keith, Hugging him softly. "..I love you..I wanna be with you, ..all the time, help you with the refuges...get out there again. But I've got to finish my work first."


	10. Chapter 10

Keith hugged him back tightly, burying his face in Lance’s hair and sighing loudly. “Okay. I love you too, and I- I just want you to be happy.”

Lance smiled, pressing a kiss to Keith's neck. "..I'm happy as long as you're in my life. Even if you're..not by my side. I know I can always love you, after all, being apart for so long we still didn't forget our feelings.." he says giving a soft chuckle. "..Maybe you can help me, with the pods. So I can finish work earlier." He says smiling. "None of the alteans seem that interested in replicating the pods..but if I can just get a schematic down for an actual working model, ...a universal one .., I'm sure I can rally together enough alteans to leave." He says smiling

Keith brightened and leaned back to smile at him. "I'd love to help you! You just have to tell me what to do and stuff.'

Lance chuckled. "I can't wait to get this done with, I've been trying for sooo long to get these pods right. And I'm sure with your help we could get them done super quick." He says, smiling happily, moving back to grab a bagel, handing one to Keith.

Keith bit into it and started chewing quietly when the Paladins started to file into the kitchen.

Lance smiled as he took his own bagel, giving the other paladins a thumbs up as he took a bite of the one he'd grabbed.

Hunk and Pidge exchanged a knowing glance before sitting down next to them and grabbing fruit from the bowl. “Good morning,” Hunk yawned.

Lance flushed slightly, smiling warmly. "Morning" He says before taking another bite of the bagel. As he finishes that bite. "So what do you guys plan on doing today..?"

Pidge shrugged and grabbed a bagel for herself. “I was thinking about helping you with the pods.”

"Oh..Well, Me and Keith were going to pick juniberry flowers while I showed him the newest statue...But maybe we could all try and work on the pods together..? I kind of want to finish the pods so maybe I could..take an extended vacation and help out with the refugee program.." HE says smiling.

Keith smiled at him over his glass of water, while Hunk and Pidge exchanged excited glances. “That’s awesome!” She cried. “Where’s Kosmo?”

Lance smiled warmly. "Oh, he's been wandering around, I know he was in Keith's room earlier. He's probably found one of the maids to give him belly rubs." He says laughing softly before taking another bite of the bagel.

Keith smiled giddily at Kosmo’s name, standing up and cupping his hands around his mouth. “Kosmo!” He shouted. “Come here, boy!”

Lance chuckled softly as the dog appeared inside the kitchen almost immediately. Kosmo was quick to sit down besides Keith, his tail wagging. "haha, see. He loves Keith." He says, winking to the other paladins.

Keith slid out of his seat and crouched down to start cuddling Kosmo’s, chuckling as he licked his face.

Lance chuckled softly as he took the final bite of his bagel, smiling. Kosmo seemed happy to be back with keith, having managed to get plenty of alteans to give him treats. Kosmo licked Keith repeatedly, excited and happy to be back with him.Lance smiled warmly as he moved over to get a better look at Keith and Kosmo. "I bet Kosmo wants some breakfast too..! I'm pretty sure I've got some pet food around here,..wait..does Kosmo even eat dog food..? I've got kibble lying around here.." He says shaking a bag briefly.

“Nah, Kosmo just eats meat. He likes it cooked, but he won’t get sick if it’s raw.” Keith laughed, scratching Kosmo’s ears. “You’re a baby boy!”

Lance was quick to head to what was to the fridge, peeking through for a minute, pulling out a tray of what seemed to be fresh, raw meat, though a peculiar shade of purple. Lance smiled. "Yes! I knew we still had some Kathorphy!" He says, giving a soft chyvkle. "..Oh, but it's raw..I'm sure we can cook it up real quick. " He says giving a short wink. "The biggest baby deserves the best of the best after all he's done for us."

Kosmo barked excitedly while Keith gave him big kisses all over his face. “I love you, baby boy! You’re such a babyyyy!”

Lance laughs, smiling. "Guys, enjoy the bagels, feel free to have another. I made plenty." He says moving to grab a pan from a cabinet before heading to the stove. He lit the flame carefully adding some oil to the pan before adding the meat.

The team quickly grabbed bagels for themselves while Keith rolled around on the ground with Kosmo.

Lance smiled as he finished cooking the meat, chuckling as he mixed it. "So we can work on the pods, and maybe on a break I can show everyone the new statues...There's quite a few. And I'm sure Coran wants to show you guys the new Alfor statue himself." He says chuckling softly.

The rest of the group nodded absently while they chatted and ate their bagels. Keith finally stood up, only to be jumped on by Kosmo.

Lance chuckled softly finishing off the meat, putting it on a plate, waiting for jt to cool. "Hey hey, Kosmo! Haha, down boy, Keith loves you so much, how's he gonna share!" He says, immediately flushing as he realized what he'd said in front of the other paladins.

Keith smirked up at him as he stood, giving Lance a kiss on his cheek as he sat at the table. “There’s enough to go around.”

Lance flushed a little deeper, embarrassed, smiling. He put down the plate for Kosmo. "Good, I love being able to share, hehe." He says smiling.

Kosmo started eating loudly, picking up the meat with his mouth and scarfing it down in a few bites.

Lance chuckled as he hugged Keith, smiling warmly. "I bet he was hungry..I'll have one of the alteans bring some.more meat by for later, so Kosmo can snack." He says giving a wink.

Keith chuckled and grabbed another bagel for himself, sliding it into the toaster. “How does this thing work?”

Lance smiled, getting up to help, going over to the interactive screen, tapping his finger twice. He then slid his finger down the side of the device, the toast descending. "It won't take long. It's ..actually ..my first project, hehe." He says, flushing slightly. "I didn't just start on the pods, I started taking apart Altean tech, and rebuilding it from scratch.  
" he says, smiling a bit.

Keith smiled at him proudly and looked at the toaster again. “Well, it’s pretty amazing for your first project.”

Lance flushed a little deeper. "..It..really wasnt anything hard, It's actually kinda similar to a toaster back on Earth, just using plasma instead of heat coils to toast the..toast. "he says giving a soft chuckle. The bagel popped up, toasted and lightly browned, evenly.

Keith grabbed the bagel and smeared the cream cheese on, nudging Lance’s leg with his toe.

Lance smiled, flushing lightly. "Why don't you guys go ahead and start working on the Pods, and stuff and me and Keith will meet you there in a few minutes. I'm sure you'd like to get started figuring out the basic layouts. One of the Alteans can help you." He says winking at Pidge and Hunk.

Pidge and Hunk exchanged excited nods, jumping out of their seats and racing out the door.

Lance chuckled, smiling as he cautiously glanced at Shiro, offering a smile. "..I think you should check out the library, We got a couple new books in that are about Earth that I havent exactly had the time to proofread and fix" He says, giving a slightly forced chuckle.

Shiro smiled pleasantly and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? You know me well, I somehow managed to go through all of the old ones during my time in the castle.”

Lance flushed slightly, averting his eyes a little, the smile falling a bit, becoming slightly more forced than relaxed. He hoped Shiro wouldn't notice. "It'd be a heck of a help for you to read them and check out the specs, so to speak. I've ..fallen behind lately on my reading."

“Yeah, no problem.” Shiro laughed, turning toward the door. “Will you come help me later on?” 

Keith slid next to Lance and hugged his waist reassuringly.

Lance nodded slightly to Shiro, laughing a little, also slightly forced. "O-Oh yea, No problem." He says giving a rather convincing smile, or at least he hoped so. He was still nervous about talking to Shiro..though he knew ...it definitely felt different. He knew that Shiro was different. He understood and could tell the different nuances in their voices..but that didn't stop the unsettling feeling in his stomach. He relaxed a little as Keith hugged his waist, flushing a little.

Keith tucked his chin into Lance’s shoulder as Shiro left, kissing his back softly. “You Okay, baby?” He whispered.

Lance took in a rather deep breath as Shiro left, exhaling slowly as Keith spoke. "..y-yeah, I'm..okay. S-sorry, I..I know I said it'd just be us for most of today, but I promise you, we're still going to go pick flowers..I just want to work on the pods for maybe an hour, just help Pidge and Hunk figure out where I...messed up." he says, giving a slightly nervous smile.

Keith turned him around to give him a soft kiss. “How about I help you with the pods, you can teach me?”

Lance relaxed, kissing back softly, taking Keith's hand. "..I..I'd love to teach you. It's..a bit more complex than the toaster, though.." he says, flushing giving a short chuckle.

Keith shrugged and gave him a smirk. “I’ll just hand you the tools and stuff, you’re the smart guy.”

Lance pressed a kiss to keith's nose. "You'd be the hottest tool holder, ..after all, you've got plenty of tools." He says, snickering softly at his own joke.

Keith gave him a chuckle and turned to the exit. “Yeah, Yeah. Let’s go then, shall we?”

Lance smiled as he got up and followed Keith, as they headed towards the same bay that was littered with pod parts, and belongings that were being assembled. Two alteans were there along with Pidge and Hunk, who were trying to figure out the pods as well.

Keith bent over to collect all the tools and pod parts, gathering them with his arms.

Lance smiled as he headed towards the nearest pod, "I got this one mostly together..it's really the hard part working out the programming bugs with each species. Like this one." He points to the one Keith had used. "It's still got negative effects on humans, but it can still do a good job healing."

Keith nodded and sat down near the pod, spreading the pieces out on the ground in front of him. "Tell me what each piece is called."

Lance nodded softly. "Well, first there..That's just a basic wrench, ..just looks kinda weird, cause of the handle. Then we've got what they call a whvort, which is ..kinda like a version of one of the Galran programming units, actually. You just kinda plug it in and give the device's programming it's purpose, and it'll help you to set up the proper wiring. ..Next to that is just a wire splitter and joiner unit." He says pointing out the unit. "There's a couple different tools to help assign and melt the wires into place,..kinda like a simple welding set from Earth" He says shrugging a bit.

Keith watched his face instead of paying attention to what he said, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind Lance's ear and kiss him.

Lance flushed deeply as he noticed Keith was looking at him, smiling a bit as he fixed the strand of hair, kissing bacck carefully, a little relieved that Shiro wasn't there.

Keith leaned up on his knees so he could cup Lance's cheek as well. He pulled back to smile at him with a sigh. "I love you."

Lance relaxed a little, kissing Keith back deeply, sighing softly in relief as they parted. "..Fuck, you know I love you more.." he says softly, his cheeks flushed.

Keith grinned and gave him a soft pat on the cheek. “Alright, lover boy. I’ll try to pay attention this time, just dumb it down for me.”

Lance tensed slightly, flushing. "..O-okay..I just uh, ..Its...not that complicated, really.. Ive just got a couple of wires to fix, and we should be able to see if we can program away the whole ...drunk effect." He says flushing, smiling, as he turned to open the panel, embarrassed, noticing Pidge staring in their direction, Hunk hovering over a panel of his own.

Keith gave him a nod and another kiss, sliding a hand up the front of Lance's shirt. "This is gonna be fun."

Lance flushed, chuckling as he kissed back. "Hey, hey, ..you said we'd focus." he says, pulling away a little, beginning to push aside two smaller wires under the panel. "s-she's watching..." He says.

Keith slipped his hand back out and smirked, looking over his shoulder at Pidge and sticking his tongue out.

Lance remained flushed as he worked, careful. "h-hand me the blue programmer unit.." he says softly, knowing he needed to attach the wires in order to figure out why it'd caused Keith to behave drunkenly.

Keith looked around him and picked up a blue tool, handing it to him. "This?"

"Yep, I've..just gotta figure out what's wrong with this unit, and I'm pretty sure Hunk and Pidge can figure out the rest with Sarin" He says, briefly looking up at one of the two alteans helping Pidge and Hunk. He went back, plugging the two wires in. "..It..won't take long.

"Cool." Keith started to play with his hair absently as Lance worked, watching the Alteans help Pidge and Hunk. "You're good at this."

Lance smiled, flushing. "..I better be, I spent almost two years working on these.." He says, biting his lip as he felt Keith's fingers run over a very specific spot.

Keith watched him and quirked a brow, running his fingers over the spot again. "Oh?"

Lance let out a soft gasp, biting his lip a little harder. "s-stop, Keith..." he says, lowering his head a little in towards his chest, biting his lip. He fumbled briefly with the programmer unit, almost dropping it.

Keith grinned and pulled back to chuckle. "Huh. That's kinda weird. I didn't know you could get a boner from me playing with your hair."

"Sh s-shh shh..I..I didnt.." he says, squeezing his legs together, using the unit to cover his pants, embarrassed. "f-fuck..Shut up. I've got to work, Keith." He says a little urgent, honestly worried about Pidge or Hunk seeing that state. "I-It's..bad, n-not good." He says, averting his eyes, trying to focus back on the pod.

Keith blushed, thought he kept grinning at him. "You want me to help you with your little problem there?'

Lance shook his head quickly, flushed deeply. "N-No, shut up..It'll be..fine." He says, keeping his eyes averted, flushed, trying to get back to work, briefly squeezing his legs together again.

Keith slid next to him so he was blocking Hunk and Pidge's view of Lance, sliding his hand onto Lance's lap. "You sure, honey?"

Lance flinched lightly as keith slid into his waist, putting down the unit, he swallowed softly. "K-Keith, Please..y-you're too close.." He says, quietly and hesitantly. He didn't want to risk upsetting Keith, honestly a little nervous, his cheeks deeply flushed.

Keith recoiled his and gave him a peck on the cheek instead. "If you really want me to stop just say red and I'll be off you in a second, kay?"

Lance tensed slightly, relaxing a little though still a bit nervous. He was honestly worried about saying Red. Lance bit his lip, keeping his eyes averted, knowing fully well he was still hard. Also knowing he had too much to do for the day to risk making Keith mad. He gave a small cautious nod.

Keith smirked and leaned back in to kiss his jawline softly. "Good. I never want to make you uncomfortable." He murmured, rubbing the heel of his palm against Lance's crotch.

Lance lifted his head a little, tensing up slightly. "..c-can't we w-wait and do this in the room..?" he asks quietly, his cheeks flushed, worried about being caught. "I...I know I'm not supposed to signal..b-but maybe..yellow..?" He says qietly, biting his lip, averting his eyes back away, nervous about the potential reaction. He knew he couldnt red...Not for something this simple..

Keith drew his hand back and nodded, sitting back on his heels. “Yeah, Of course. My bad.” He turned back to the tools and started color coding them.

Lance relaxed a little. "..I'm sorry...I..I just don't want to get caught.." he says quietly, frowning as he brought his eyes back to Keith, worried he upset the other. "..I-I promise we can go tonight, ..I promise I can make it up to you.." he says softly, cautiously going to pick back up the tool, trying to return to focusing on the wires.

Keith started watching his hands as he organized, huffing. “You don’t have to promise anything, it’s alright.”

Lance relaxed a little as he continued to work on the wires, embarrassed, still rather flushed. He was still a bit worried he upset Keith. He finally plugged in the device, quickly scrolling down to the settings, changing a few things as he went over the panels controllants and how it distributed the medical process, and turned up a couple settings, hoping to offset the alcohol effect in humans. "..'m sorry, ..I know you wanted to.." he says quietly, keeping his voice down, not wanting Pidge, Hunk or the Alteans to hear.

Keith frowned at him worriedly and scooted forward to grab his hand. "No, baby. It's fine, I want what you want."

Lance tensed slightly as his hand was grabbed. "..We can still go later, I..I-i just don't want to get caught with them so close.." he says quietly, averting his eyes again, setting down the device again, leaving the wires within it, letting the program continue. "..I..I'm not ready to show off, yet..and I'm sorry I'm not, I know you want to take..c-care of me, but it's..not the right time here." He says, his shoulders raising a little as he shrugged.

Keith shrugged and nodded as he handed over the next tool. “I totally get it, Lance. Stop staying sorry, you don’t need to be.”

Lance nodded a little, frowning still. "...T-thank's...for understanding...It's...nice to have someone that will listen to me.." He says, his cheeks flushing slightly, frowning softly, worried, as he accepted the next tool, working on the coding rather quick, trying to figure out how to fix the Pod.

Keith gave him a peck on the cheek and started playing with the tools absently. “No problem, babe.”

Lance smiled a little, light blush dusting his cheeks as he worked, finishing up rather quickly as he checked and changed a couple settings, allowing the blue tool to remain connected. "..okay, ...it should auto reset over the course of a couple hours.., Hunk..! Pidge, guys, This pod is resetting, It'll be fine to be left alone, just a warning. I'm sure you guys can figure out one on your own. if we can start replicating this type of system layout in different pods, it'll go smoothly." he says, cheerful in his voice, a smile simply laying on his face.

Pidge gave a small hoot of victory and threw a manual book at him. “Good job, sharpshooter! Go pick daisies and cuddle with your boyfriend or something.”

Lance chuckled as he caught the book, setting it down. "They're juniberries, not daisies" He says giving a short chuckle. "..Come on Keith, l-let's go." he says, smiling a bit, moving to stand up, honestly...eager to get away from the others, worried that they overheard.

Keith jumped up and followed Lance out the room, glancing over his shoulder to wiggle his eyebrows at Pidge.

Lance stopped after exiting the room, taking a slightly deep breath, letting it out slowly in a soft sigh, honestly a little relieved to be out of there..though he knew there was a lot more stress to come through the rest of the day.. He still had to talk to Shiro.. But first, he could focus on Keith. "..So, do you wanna grab something to munch and go have a picnic out by the new statues..?" He asks, smiling a little. He was relieved though that Keith wasn't upset about the whole previous situation... it felt better that if he needed to safeword..it would be honored.


	11. The Clone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sex in this chapter, Followed by some important information for later.. yeah sorry. It happened fast.

Keith swallowed thickly and stood up briefly to kick off his boxers. “But first I want you to... y’know.” He mumbled, walking up to Lance’s face on his knees.

Lance gave a short nod as Keith moved up, swallowing softly. "O-Of course.." He says, giving a short nod, moving in to gently bring his hand up to cup Keith's thigh as Lance moved in to gently begin licking subtly into Keith's slit, careful as he used his tongue to part the lips.

Keith bit his lip and ran a hand through Lance’s hair, sighing softly. “Yeah, that’s good.”

Lance relaxed a little as he carefully nudged his tongue deeper within Keith's soft labia, makin sure to pay special attention and explore around Keith's clitoris.

Keith made a soft whimper, locking his thighs around Lance’s face and grinding into his mouth. “Deeper, please.”

Lance gave a soft groan as he moved his one hand up from Keith's thigh and to gently probe his fingers deeper into Keith's vagina, sliding his tongue and lapping carefully at Keith's clitoris.

Keith gasped and slid a hand over his mouth to keep himself quiet, rolling his hips and moaning. "F-fuck, yes... just like that."

Lance smirked a little as best he could, as he continued to go deeper, letting his tongue roam Keith's labia, sliding a finger slowly inside, parting Keith's lips.

Keith pulled away from him after a minute, panting. "K-kay, I'm gonna ride you now."

Lance groaned softly as Keith pulled away, flushed and panting softly. He gave a soft nod.

Keith crawled back down into his lap and quickly lined Lance up, sinking down on him in one swift motion.

Lance groaned as Keith sank down, absolutely adoring the rather sudden intense pleasure, biting down on his own lip, trying to desperately stifle himself.

Keith slid a hand over his mouth and rolled his hips, eyes blowing wide. “Ngh- Lance~” he whispered. “Feels so good.”

Lance groaned as Keith rolled his hips, bucking briefly up into Keith, bringing up a hand to cover his own mouth, flushed a bit desperate to keep himself quiet.

Keith set his hands on Lance's shoulders and started to bounce on his lap, mouth hanging open on a silent moan.

Lance bites his lip rather hard behind his own mouth, rocking his hips barely, trying desperately to thrust up into Keith, doing what he can to keep his own voice quiet.

Keith slowed to a slow grind, letting his hair fall in a curtain around his face. "Lance, please- fuck me."

Lance groaned, cursing quietly trying to hush himself, quick to bite his fingers, pushing his own hips up rather quickly, trying to desperately fuck up into Keith, having minor trouble doing so, considering his one hand was occupied over his mouth struggling to keep him quiet.

Keith rolled them over so that he was laying beneath Lance, wiggling onto his stomach and lifting his hips into the air. “Like this,” he offered quietly.

Lance flinched lightly as they were flipped, his cheeks flushed, keeping his mouth covered. He groaned a little, giving a short nod as he thrusted into Keith.

Keith felt his eyes roll back, giving a guttural groan. “Lemme hear you...!”

Lance flinched, his eyes widening slightly as he glanced around slightly, worried if someone would to be around the Garden area, continuing to stifle his short moan, though refusing to slow at all in his motions.

“P-please,” Keith moaned quietly. “I wanna hear you, it’s embarrassing.

Lance bit his own lip briefly, his cheeks flushing a it deeper as a groan slipped out from behind his hand as he bucked into Keith in shorter shallow thrusts. He was embarrassed already..just the fact that they were outside and fucking in the bushes basically..The risk of being caught was even scarier.

Keith panted and looked at him over his shoulder, reaching back to spread his asscheeks. “Fuck, you’re so deep.”

Lance groaned quietly as he thrusted further into Keith, biting his own lip trying to keep himself down. "F-fuck, you feel so good.."

Keith grabbed Lance’s hips and started shivering. “Fuck- Lance- I’m gonna cum!”

Lance thrusted in deeper, pulling Keith's hip a little closer with his one free hand, knowing fully well his other hand was supposed to be stifling him...it was failing. "Me too.." He groaned, fucking harder into Keith.

Keith’s head rolled forward with every thrust, his moans starting to crescendo into screams of pleasure. “Lance!”

Lance shushed Keith as best he could through slightly clenched teeth. "Y-you're gonna get us fucking caught, Keith." he comments, still trying to keep himself quiet, and struggling to do so as he was beginning to lose control, thrusting roughly into Keith.

Keith went stiff suddenly, his legs giving out as he came with a hoarse yell.

Lance groaned as he felt Keith stiffen, thrusting in a bit harder as he came inside Keith, biting his lip.

Keith groaned and glanced up when there was movement from the other side of the garden. “Your highness?” A maid called out. “Is that you? I heard screaming!”

Lance flinched as he heard the maid, immediately beginning to panic. "Uh, Y-Yeah, yea..it's nothing! Please go inside..!" He says rather loudly, careful as he pulled out of Keith, embarrassed and worried at the prospect of being caught, knowing fully well that if they were to be caught...word would quickly spread, not of Lance's sexuality....but that he was lewd enough to do so in public.

Keith giggled and sat up on his elbows. “Yeah, we’re fine! He just scared me!”

Lance flushed deeper, biting his lip as Keith sat up on his elbows, careful as he bends over to carefully suck at Keith's neck, pulling him up a little, relieved the maid seemed to go inside, honestly terrified of being caught. "w-we need too be more careful.." He says softly.

Keith groaned shakily, running a hand through Lance’s hair and arching into him.

Lance sighed a little softly into Keith's ear. "..You still feeling amazing.." He asks softly, smirking a little as he moved one hand back to carefully try and pull up his own pants and boxers, sliding his hand slowly down across keith's waist. "..Was I really that good..?" He asks quietly

“Yeah,” Keith mumbled, pulling his clothes back on and biting his lip. “I think that was the hardest I’ve ever cum.”

Lance gave a soft chuckle, pressing careful kisses to Keith even as he pulled his clothes back on. " ..You were so hot, even if..I was kinda..freaking out." He says, averting his eyes a little, flushing again.

Keith sat up and combed a hand through his own hair. “It must be getting late. We should get inside.”

Lance flushed giving a short nod. "..Yea, I've..still got a lot to do today. Meeting with Shiro, ..escorting you to the observatory tonight for some incredible starviewing.." He says giving a short wink at Keith, moving to get up carefully, extending out a hand to help the other up. "..we are totally stopping at the kitchen before though.." He says giving a warm smile.

Keith stood up with Lance’s help, dusting himself off with a sigh. “Yeah. Let’s go, shall we?”

Lance leaned over pressing a short kiss to Keith's lips giving a nod, smiling a bit. "..I honestly..can't wait for you to see all the work we've put into the new parts of the castle. If..you thought the statues were impressive, then you're gonna love the new architecture we built into the observatory area..It's even got a pretty color scheme, ..designed by moi..!" he says giving a short chuckle, leading back through the garden, his vision briefly catching on a statue further off in the distance the smile slipping down to a frown, but quick to return his attention to Keith as they headed back inside.

Keith slipped an arm through Lance’s and kissed his cheek back. “Can we go to the data library first?”

Lance smiled. "You're eager to see what we've done with the place, huh.. well, you could go while I go see Shiro, if you'd like...? ..It's just down the hall after all" He says, the smile falling. "..It'd be good, because then you'd..be just down the hall if anything happens.." He says offering a small attempt at a smile. "That way as soon as I'm done with Shiro, we can go star gazing.."

Keith brightened at the idea, nodding quickly and squeezing his hand. “That sounds like an amazing idea!”

Lance smiled, heading inside with keith, heading for the kitchen to grab some water. "I'm sure we're both in need of a little something, so I figure..we grab some water and then I have to face my own fears..?" he says, offering a small unsure smile, averting his eyes a little.

Keith nodded and took a glass of water to his lips, pressing a final kiss against his cheek before running off into the data library. “I’ll see you later!”

Lance smiled, waving briefly to keith. "See you soon! I can't wait to watch the stars!" he says hopeful, ...though honestly terrified of his soon encounter with Shiro, taking a couple sips of a glass of his own. He sighed softly, worried.

As soon as Keith got to the library, he started scanning all the information he could find.

There were records everywhere most consisting of ancient knowledge on Altea, quite a few books on other..now deceased Alliances, and many books on the alliance between Alteans and Galra. 

Lance swallowed softly as he headed off to meet Shiro, in a different type of Library... The library containing..less programmable books of important information, and more on the lives and facts about the many many aliens in the universe. Lance was nervous..He didn't honestly want to be left alone with Shiro, though he knew and understood that...this Shiro couldn't possibly have the memories of Shiro's clone.. at least Lance hoped.

As soon as he’d scanned all the information, Keith started wandering the halls to take artifacts off their podiums and scan them as well.

It failed to be a surprise that the artifacts on some of their stations were harder to lift. The art that hung along the walls detailed the war,.. some painted by Alteans, some by even just the Paladins, detailing their journey, and the journey from their homes on Earth..all the way through til then..right there. As the halls of information stretched on and outward, more and more pictures ..some poorly made, other's seeming to be almost professional stretched the ceilings above the data cases. At the very end of the main hallway..was the observatory entrance. 

Lance stopped short of the library, hesitant as he carefully moved to enter, honestly..terrified of having to confront Shiro, but..he knew he could play it off. It's not like Kuron..It's..gonna be okay. He's not going to touch you, he's not going to hurt you.. You're gonna be okay, Lance kept telling himself, forcing himself to relax a little as he entered the library, glancing around briefly for Shiro, guessing he would be in the side with the Earth featuring books.. One's he still had not looked through to make sure they were accurate

Shiro greeted him with a smile when he saw Lance at the entrance. “Hey, Sharpshooter. Ready to read?”

Lance gave a smile, though it was smaller. "Of course, I've been meaning to find and fix all the mess ups." he says, giving a small chuckle, knowing fully well..that his heart was practically beating out of his chest.

Shiro nodded and started walking towards the section of books they’d be working on. “Did you have fun with Keith.”

Lance nodded. "Yea, I showed him the gardens,..He's in the data center right now. I'm guessing doing a little research of his own." he comments, giving a small shrug, following Shiro into the area, sliding a finger along the wall for a few moments. "I've really been meaning to check on how accurate the books are in here..since a lot of them seemed biased when it came to certain ..groups." He says, purposefully being vague.

Shiro nodded in agreement and pulled a book of the shelf. “Let’s start with this one, shall we?”

Lance nodded, smiling as he moved over to a small desk in the area, giving a soft sigh as he sat down. "I'm sure it...can't be that far off." He says giving a short chuckle.

Keith arrived at the entrance of the library with a blank expression. “Your data has been breached. I’m leaving now.” He announced loudly.

Lance looked back at the door, getting up. "Keith..?" He asks, moving towards the door, his eyebrows narrowing. "..wait, what? Keith!" He says, leaving the section of the library he and Shiro were in, to go towards the entrance.

Keith turned and started to walk down the hallway. “Self destruction in five minutes.” He announced again.

Lance's eyes narrowed. "Shiro! Shiro, get everyone out of this wing..We need them out now!" He warns, to be honest...a little terrified, calling back to Shiro in the Library before heading back towards Keith. "Keith, Keith! Stop, talk to me! What do you mean self destruct?!" He asks, getting agitated as Keith walked.

Keith turned to face him and blinked. “Where is the nearest weapon? Find it, okay,” he mumbled, turning back around and starting to run.

Lance, flinched as Keith turned back. "Keith! Wait! Fucking stop! God damnit!" He says, rushing towards him, trying to grab or move in front of Keith. "Stop! Babe!" He says, urgently finally managing to grab him arm, thankful of his long legs for once. "Listen to me! Fucking stop, explain what's going on? What did you do?!" He asks, his voice urgent, worried and...a bit mad.

“I’m not your Keith!” Keith hissed, wrestling himself away from Lance. “Check your video call to find him. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to kill myself now that I’ve sent all the information to my master.”

Lance frowned, flinching slightly as he was pushed back. "No! No you're not!" He says, aggressively moving back in to grab Keith, grabbing his arm roughly, tugging it rather sharply behind Keith's back. "You're..not yourself. Who the hell is your master?! Where is this so called master?!" He demands, his eyes narrowing, tears just starting to prick his own eyes. No..this couldn't be true..not again.

Keith struggled against him and growled. “Victory or death, I’ll never tell you anything!”

Lance yanked Keith down the hall, away from the Library, trusting that Shiro would help...god he fucking hoped he would, to clear the area in case anything did occur. "Marmora or Who!? Tell me, now Keith!" He says, anger clear in his face as he gripped both of Keith's arms, being rather forceful with the other, pulling them behind his back, knowing fully well to watch for Keith's legs. ..even if this wasn't Keith, ..he knew there was still a chance that..this Keith would rely on normal combat methods.

Keith grunted from exertion, glancing around for anything sharp. He settled on a large sword that was on display, starting to drag Lance towards it with him.

Lance finally decided to give in, allowing Keith to move forward away from him, letting one foot slide forward and in front of Keith's feet, attempting to knock him down, bending his knee a bit sharper than he'd like to have. "Fuck! Keith, no! You are NOT killing yourself! You're t-to fucking important to me!" He says, aggression in his voice, tears rimming his eyes as he fought to keep Keith close to him, yanking back solidly on his arms, desperate to pin Keith down.

“I’m not Keith! He’s locked away at my masters base, and they think he’s cute, so good luck getting him back. Or should I say she?”

Lance's heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest. He bit his lip, as he heard Keith speak, his heart nearly breaking as he heard the others final statement. "..N-No. Shut up! Just fucking shut up!" He says, pushing all of his force to knock Keith down to the floor, forcefully pinning the other, yanking his wrists horribly hard together. "Youre going to tell me where he fucking is, or you will never get to finish your god damn mission!" He orders, violent and ..almost completely unlike his usual self. ..He needed Keith. His Keith.. He'd already had his heart shattered, and ptsd with his experiences with Kuron,...and now he had finally put himself out there, and this happened..

Keith grunted, wiggling around beneath him. “Contact my master to get him back, you bitch!” He hissed. “You’re not going to get anything from me!”

Lance flinched, putting all of his weight on keeping this Keith pinned, quick to search his pockets, annoyed, tears were slowly sliding down from his eyes. "Fuck you,..just f-fuck you. You're not my Keith, you..you can't be. But you are going to lead me to my Keith, you piece of shit..I'm going to...I'm not gonna make the same mistake I did for Kuron. I'm not gonna fucking wait!" He says anger returning to his voice.

“I’ve trained my entire life for this mission, and you think you can get any information from me? My duty is to die.” Keith hissed.

Lance let out a low sounding noise of annoyance. "The only things I want to hear from your damn mouth is where Keith is!" He says, demanding, yanking roughly back on Keith's arms, keeping him pinned. He found the scanner with his free hand, quick to bring his hand to his own belt, grabbing his phone tapping a couple buttons. "Coran! Pidge, Hunk, Shiro! We've got a situation!" He says, as the audio began streaming overhead, and through to almost everywhere in the castle. "We need a bomb scan, the castle emptied, a cell prepped. I'll have our..prisoner to the cell bay in just about a minute!!" He says, honestly terrified of the potential of losing any more lives, not wanting to risk anyone being injured. He knew this was a risky situation...but was occuring was actually happening, he had to take it seriously.

“You have an incoming call, Lance,” Shiro called loudly, racing up to him with a live video pad in his hands.

Lance swallowed as he saw Shiro, keeping Keith pinned, checking over the video call, worried, and hoping the others would succeed in emptying the castle.

A gruff Galra man was on the other side, sitting at a desk. “Greetings, Lance. We have the red Paladin.”

Lances eyebrows narrowed. "Shiro...we've got a Copycat, hold him down " he says rather aggressively, passing off his hold cautiously as to not let this copy go. "And I've got your damn messed up clone.." he says his voice quite deeper than the normal lighthearted tone. He was angry. How could he fucking trust anyone again..first Shiro turned out not to be Shiro..and then Keith turned...out not to be Keith. "Where is he. Give him back, or else."

The man chuckled. “You may come retrieve him. We will drop him off at a nearby planet, under the conditions that you let our clone kill himself.”

Lance let out a short offended sound. "No..! No, and why the fuck did you need our data? What is even your damn plan? I'm not letting your clone die! I want Keith with me, safe and sound!" He says. "You didn't just make a fucking Clone, you made something with emotions!"

“He’s been trained all his life for this, don’t worry. Any independent thinking has been erased from his brain.” The general assured. “Now let him go or we’ll continue to torture your Paladin.”

"If you fucking lay another finger on Keith, this one will not die...Give me proof you have Keith." He demands, aggressively, glancing back at Shiro holding down Keith. "..I want to speak with him. NOW! You're not getting your little clone back, and I demand you give me back Keith! You may have a single copy of our data, but we've got thousands upon thousands of back up files. You're never going to be on the winning side." He says addressing rather harshly. "The Galra are good, your little defect group won't last.." he says pressing a couple buttons on his phone offscreen, setting up the planets defense system, knowing fully well..if he had to rescue Keith, he wouldn't put Atlas or the rest of Altea in danger.

The gruff man chuckled when a small screen appeared next to him, exhibiting a frail and pallid figure with wires connected to stickers on his forehead. “I’d like to speak to the one he calls Shiro,” the man announced.

Lance frowned. "..Keith.." he says quietly as he looked at the smaller screen. "..Don't you fucking hurt him.." he says, passing off the screen, worried and a bit upset, taking over for Shiro holding down the clone, checking on the apparent clones status. He was honestly..terrified that Keith..was being hurt. And ..his heart was broken that...the Keith he'd loved..the one he confessed to, wasn't even real.

The general smiled as Shiro approached his screen. “Our technology allowed us to use some of his childhood trauma to torture him. Did you know that the priest from his Sunday school molested him every weekend? It appears he never told you.”

Lance's eyes widened almost as quickly as Shiro's narrowed down to the center. "..S..So he did, " he says frowning, quick to force his shirt moment of grief back. "..Either meet with us or we keep your little clone alive and make him spill the beans on your location and send the Blade." Shiro demands, anger leeching into his voice. Knowing fully well..there had to be a way to get Keith back, without..causing the death of this clone. Lance was honestly..heart broken. He put his trust in another person only for it to backfire.. he didn't know if he could ever love again, ..or even risk being in love again.

“He lost his virginity on his tenth birthday!” The general continued with an evil grin. “And you didn’t suspect a thing.”

The real Keith sat up slowly in the small screen. “Shiro? ‘M sorry...”

Lance tensed as he heard Keith's voice on the other side of the screen, keeping the copy well pinned, his eyes tearing up. Shiro frowned. "..Don't apologize, Keith, ..You did nothing wrong, Don't you fucking touch him again. Where do you want to exchange. Say it and we'll be there in under an hour." He demands, anger flooding his voice as he finally heard Keith speak...honestly not angry about words, more angry that the galra male was refusing to cooperate. "Keith were coming for you.". He says, clearly.

“We will leave him on the planet of Yotryiva, take your time.” The general decided, nodding at his guards to start unchaining Keith.

Lance frowned, Shiro turning. "Keith, keep it together." He says, keeping his voice as firm as he could,..honestly trying to not get choked up. He loved Keith..Seeing Keith in such a vulnerable position broke his heart. Lance yanked at the copy's arms, forcing him up as he took his weight off the other. "you're coming too.." Lance says a bit aggressively. He turns back on the overhead pager on his phone. "Please ready an transport unit, Coran for three..A cell is no longer needed. ...This is going to be worked out and quickly." He says, his voice..almost flat as it broadcast across and outside the castle. He was honestly..still a bit surprised the data library hadn't blown up by then. He was still worried...He needed Keith.. but, this Keith..wasn't his Keith, and..Neither was the prisoner Keith..

The on screen Keith coughed into his arm. "Lance- listen, I l-love you, I don't wanna die." He managed hoarsely while some guards led him onto a transportation ship.

Lance tensed stopping immediately as he heard Keith. He had a couple tear lines tracked down his face. "..I.. I'm coming to get you, Keith. Just..Stay strong. I promise you're going to be okay.." He says softly, starting to pull the copy down the hall. "Come on, copycat." He says ordering the other down the hall, holding his wrists firmly, in order to keep the copy of Keith going in the direction that he wanted as Shiro followed holding the screen, worried and upset though..trying not to show to what extent. Coran had already prepped a transport, giving a short nod..though throughly confused. They headed off for the planet. Lance...feeling a dead weight in his stomach, fighting the very urge to just...give up. He'd already died once, lost three loves..what more could he possibly lose..

Once they reached the planet, there was a small pod waiting, made out of entirely glass. Keith was inside, shaking violently due to the cold climate of the planet. He started banging on the glass when he saw the Castle land.

Lance landed the transport unit, rushing out, dragging the clone with him, though..clearly not as roughly. "..listen up, clone.. you're not Keith..but you can still be your own person..there is ways to free you.. I could help you. We..could help you, but only if you're wanting to Live a life of your own.." he says in a hushed voice to the clone as he pushed him along towards the glass pod, not trying to take his time..but also relatively suffering as ...he no longer had the paladin suit, and Altean alternative suits lacked the necessary warmth that this planet would require. He glanced around, searching for any way at all he could see the person who'd done this..

The clone Keith growled and continued to struggle against Lance. “Just let me go, okay? Just for a minute.”

"..And why should I? ..you want to betray us. You wanted to kill yourself..., Hell the only thing keeping you warm right now is my space suit..you wouldn't survive afloat, Copy.." he says frowning. "..I want to help you. If you help us get ..the real Keith back, we can help break the bond.." he says frowning, his voice softening a little. "Please let me help you, prove that you're not just a clone.." he says frowning, continuing to hear for Keith, knowing very well that time was of the essence. "Come back with us. You can fix what you've done..theres other places you can live.."

The sound of Keith banging on the glass got louder as they neared the pod. He was screaming out to Lance weakly as well.

The clone grunted and twisted to kiss Lance suddenly. “Please,” he panted.

Lance flinched, pulling immediately away from the clone. "Shiro! Take him down. NOW!" He says aggression immediately entering his voice. It wasn't long before Shiro was struggling to force the clone down once more. Knowing fully well the risks of handling this incident lightly. Lance ran forward, leaving Shiro to keep track of the Clone, to get Keith. Panic sweeping over him as he arrived at the pod, moving to open it quickly.

Keith stumbled out of the pod and fell into Lance’s arms, a violent shiver racking his body. “F-fuck, you h-h-have to let h-him go!”

Lance pulled Keith close, opening his suit a bit to let some of the minor accumulated body heat go. "Why? Keith! He's ..He's basically you..! We need to free him, I...I can't let another Kuron happen, okay.." He says worried as he pulled Keith close to him, tears finally re emerging.

“N-no, he’ll d-do anything to kill h-h-himself, he’ll h-hurt everyone! He’s n-not real, p-please!”

"Keith, I..I can't watch you die.." he says quietly, holding Keith to him, glancing back at Shiro who was holding down the clone. Lance swallowed. "..Shiro, ..Let him go..We..we need to get out of here, ..Now. I've got the scanner, ..if he doesn't want to change, ...if we can't rescue him, then..w-we have to let him go.." He says quietly, tears still slow as they dripped down his face. While yes, it was ...so good to have the real Keith..that didn't mean it didn't hurt to lose the Keith he'd just been with. His heart felt complicated. ....in so many ways, this felt like the worst possible outcome. ...this Keith wasn't his,....Not the same way.. it..it felt like he was back to where he began. Mourning his love,...going to be left alone..again.

As soon as Shiro let the clone go, he scrambled to the nearest sharp rock and started smashing his head into it. 

Keith winced and tucked his face into Lance’s chest. “I’m s-s-so cold...”

Lance tensed, bowing his head down into Keith's hair, wrapping his eyes around Keith, tears in his eyes, silent as he cried, desperate to get away from the situation, careful as they began the short shuffle back to the transport pod, Shiro..also unable to bear watching this..exact clone of a person so dear and close to his heart..doing such a thing.. Shiro had also begun to cry as they made their way into the heated pod.

Keith was silent as soon as they were inside, watching both of them cry with an exhausted expression. He set his head down on Lance’s lap and shut his eyes, still shaking slightly.


	12. Aftermath

Shiro sighed shakily, letting go of Lance's hand to shut his eyes. "You're right. I'm sorry... it's... it just makes so much sense now and I'm so mad at myself."

Lance relaxed a little, withdrawing his hand, moving it back to give a half hugging support around Shiro. "..I know you are..y-you should have seen the signs.. L-Like I should have seen the signs. But I didn't..and ..we just have to deal with it.." He says softly. Lance honestly..felt like there was a hole in his chest. He wasn't sure if he could even dare ask Shiro.. but there didn't seem to be a good time for it at all.

"It... he came out as trans when he was twelve. And- and I don't even know how long it went on!" Shiro whispered.

Lance frowned. "..S-Shiro, I know, ...He didn't tell you, and it's..not fair that he didn't tell you, but I'm sure Keith had a good reason. Maybe..he was afraid. Afraid that you'd do something you'd regret.." He says, tears slowly starting to rise, not falling from the lids of lance's eyes. He blinked a couple times. "..I'm sorry he didn't tell you, ..he should have told you, ..We've all made mistakes in our lives. You, Me, Keith. We've..all got secrets." He says, frowning deeply, his hand briefly patting on Shiro's back, keeping it there, glancing back over at Keith's pod.

Shiro continued to weep silently until the pod opened up, spitting Keith out onto the floor.

Lance jumped up as Keith's pod opened, immediately moving to catch him, taking the brunt of Keith falling on the floor, careful so the other didn't hit his head. "Keith..!" he says, a little shocked, his body a bit tensed, worry clear on his face.

Keith opened his eyes slowly, holding onto Lance’s arms and sitting up with a groan. “Hey.”

Lance sighed a little relieved, supporting Keith as he sat up. "You okay..?" He asks quickly, briefly checking over Keith's body, searching for any potential remaining injuries, or lasting effects through his rebuilt pods. He was worried, he didn't..want to risk anything else going wrong with Keith.

Keith nodded and pulled some tangled hair out of his eyes. “I feel really tired, but it doesn’t hurt as much.”

Lance gave a small effort at a smile. "..Well, now you can relax, and rest. ...and recover, of course. I can get some pain relievers over, ...and some food and water, of course..." He says, relieved that Keith was alright, but still plagued with the worry that he would never find the time to talk to Shiro, ..but in a way, that..wasn't that bad. If Lance never asked, Shiro could never get mad..

Keith set his cheek against Lance’s chest. “Just stay here for a minute.” He mumbled. “Please.”

Lance relaxed. "Of course, I'm not leaving you alone.." He says softly, hugging Keith gently to him. "..I'm not going to leave you alone..You can stay in my room.."

Keith sighed into his shirt and nodded, feeling his face get warm again. “Can we start over?”

Lance pressed a kiss to keith's hair. "..Of course, If..If you'll let me." He says softly, averting his eyes, the small smile falling. "..We can start..wherever you'd like.." He says quietly, lowering his voice a little. Knowing very well..he shouldn't assume that the real Keith would actually love him, despite of what he'd said.

Keith wiggled his way to sit upright, yawning. “Well, I’d like to go on a date with you.”

Lance gave a soft nod. "..Of course we can go on a date, Keith...After you've slept a little. ..I just..don't think you want to see the ..guest room right now." he says softly, moving to try and stand up, picking up keith with him with relative ease.

Keith blushed again when Lance picked him up, looping his arms around Lance’s shoulders. “Okay. And you’ll stay with me, right?”

"Of course I'll be with you..I already promised..I'm not leaving you anytime soon, Keith.." He says giving a small smile again. "..Shiro, ...can you ask one of the maids to ..give a once over of Guest Room K, please...?" he says, glancing over at Shiro. He..was worried about how Shiro would confront Keith. He hoped the other would wait..he didn't want to overwhelm Keith.

Shiro nodded and stood up to go find a maid. 

“Thanks, Lance.” Keith mumbled. “How are you?”

Lance frowned. "..I should be the one asking that, ..we..we can stop and get some food and water on the way back to my room." He says giving a small nod.

“Okay. I think I can walk if you let me down.” Keith chuckled.

Lance flushed, quick to assist Keith to stand on his own, honestly.. embarrassed. "S-sorry,..Let's..head to the kitchen first.." he says averting his eyes down.

Keith smiled at him knowingly as they walked down to the kitchen. “I sure missed you a lot.”

Lance followed along with Keith, his cheeks slightly flushed. "It...it been so long, I..don't even know who kept you.. and..with..all of that, I..I didn't know. I ..just trusted what he said, ...I'm sorry." He says frowning bit, grabbing some waters, and a little food. "..If I had know he wasn't..real, I would have never.." hr trailed off frowning.

“It’s okay.” Keith mumbled, rubbing his eyes. “I’m just upset I didn’t... I didn’t get to come out to you.”

Lance frowned deeper. "..I mean..I..don't really know if any of what he said is..the truth. He..m-made me uncomfortable sometimes.." he says, keeping his eyes averted. " ...I..was worried it ..w-was..all lies.."

Keith blinked slowly and nodded. “Oh. Well, uhm... I am transgender, he didn’t lie about that...”

Lance sighed. "..I..I could tell he didn't lie about that, Keith..he..kind of ..said derogatory things, ..made me realize it..wasn't you." He says, averting his eyes. "..I don't mind,..cause Ive..liked you for a really long time.."

Keith bit his lip and frowned at him. “What did he say?”

Lance bit his lip for a moment. "...H-He...mocked you.. s-saying that the Galra..that had you, thought you were cute. ..He said "Good luck getting him back, or should I say, She?" ..a-and that's..kind of the moment when I realized that ..he wasn't you.."

Keith winced a little and shivered involuntarily. “Oh. I’m sorry... that’s embarrassing.”

Lance frowned. "..It..It was good though, because..I knew there was no way he, could possibly be You." He says softly. "...Are you okay..?" he asks softly.

“Yeah,” Keith answered quietly, fidgeting with his hands. “You?”

Lance let out a soft breath. "..Kinda heartbroken, ...but a little relieved. C-cause now we can take our time, right..? We don't have to rush out relationship.. he..He wanted sex straight out of the healing pod.."

Keith blushed and nodded quietly. “I definitely won’t do that, don’t worry.”

Lance sighed softly. "..I'm ...not sure how much..they showed you. ...But ..maybe we can start over after we rest a little ...? I love you,..and I'm having your room cleaned, and...I...am gonna make my bed so it'll..be all like..fresh."

"Cool.” Keith sighed wearily. “And, u-uhm... they like, they got in my head. Please forget anything they told you.”

Lance relaxed a little. "..well, then..I guess I..can show you around all the changes we've made since...you last got here, later." He says sipping at his water. "..Let's,..go rest in my room, it should be clean by now.."

“Okay.” Keith smiled and sat up, sliding out of his seat. “I think you should carry me back.”

Lance smiled, passing Keith his water pouch after sealing it. "It's not like you're that heavy..you're practically all muscle now.' he says giving a short chuckle, offering out his arms to pick Keith up, raising his eyebrows

Keith started sipping from his pack with a content smile, slinging his arm around Lance’s shoulders.

Lance smiled as he crouched down, sweeping up Keith's legs as he picked him up rather easily. He started walking out and down the hall heading for his room. "..Hey, uh..can I stop by the ..observatory, I..need to check on something." He asks softly, knowing they'd be passing by it anyways..but he figured he should still ask.

Keith nodded and set his chin on Lance’s shoulder to watch the hallway disappear behind them.

Lance relaxed a bit as he walked, carrying Keith down the hall, stopping as they reached the data library, careful as he went to open the door..honestly..still a little surprised that the room was intact..but also..that nothing seemed out of place. He wondered what..could possibly have gone wrong as he walked inside.The bookshelves, lining the walls, making columns all the way through to the middle. Even the art seemed intact, the artifacts on their podiums.. Nothing seemed ..out of place. "....Hm." He says, absentminded, walking down the middle, holding onto Keith, stopping as they reached at the end of the hall and the doors of Observatory. He remained mostly silent..stuck in thought. Worry swirling in his head..

Keith watched Lance’s face turn worried, leaning forward to kiss his cheek in an effort to soothe him.

Lance let out a sot sigh as his cheek was kissed. "...He..scanned everything..I..guess and sent it to them..." He says softly, worried. "..He-" Lance paused as he looked above the observatory. ...The photo above the door..was crooked. Lance's eyebrows narrowed...it..it was his painting. Why would the clone..move his painting..?

Keith nodded and looked around the room slowly. “Yeah, it doesn’t look like anything changed.

Lance frowned, a little worried about his painting. "...It....y-yeah.." he says, deciding..to just try and brush it off. "..Let's...L-Let's go to my room.." He says, honestly though..concerned that the painting Lance himself had made, was moved. Lance sighed softly, turning, carrying Keith in his arms. He..wished he could just forget. Whatever the clone did..it clearly revolved around their data, not some stupid painting of the Paladin's that Lance made.

Keith smiled down at his feet as they swayed with Lance’s steps. “You know,” he started quietly. “This is all I ever wanted at the garrison. For you to notice me.”

Lance smiled a little. "...Well you've always had my attention..at least..once we got into space.. I...I was worried you'd..just find me annoying, ...always criticizing me and stuff.. But I get it, you wanted me to..be better, and..Now I am. "He says flashing a brief smile.

Keith frowned and shook his head. “I didn’t wanna change you- I just-... I was trying to get your attention in the wrong way.”


	13. Chapter 13

Lance shrugged, "...I mean you,...al the others did me a good thing, though. ..I trained harder, ..became more serious,yknow. I don't just stupidly joke anymore. ..On top of that I came out..kind of.. settled into this role of the one ..Prince..who never flirts.." He says, giving a small shrug. "...Well you had my attention, and now you've got it permanently, Keith.."

Keith frowned sadly. “I liked it, though. It was adorable, and- and your stupid jokes always made me laugh on the inside, at least.”

Lance's smile fell. "I...I..didn't know. With everyone kind of drifting away from me and ignoring me after..being all goofy to cheer people up, I ..just kind of decided that being cheery and stupid was wrong. It's...why I acted how I did when I talked to you about...You being the leader. I didn't think you'd like me to be myself. But even so, now you've got me.

“I’ll love-“ Keith blushed and ducked his face into his hand. “I accept you for any way you want to be.”

Lance frowned. "..Hey...I love you too.." He says as they finally arrived at Lance's room, opening the door, revealing the room had indeed been cleaned, the bed changed, the pale gold and baby blue room, the wallpaper nearly gleaming as Lance turned on the lights surrounding his room's ceiling. ..Oddly enough all of the fabric strips that were supposed to be draped around the bed were swept to the back of the bed, the fabric slouching in untidy position. Lance narrowed his eyes for a moment, moving over to set Keith down on his bed. The photo frame on Lance's wall...was off. Another odd thing. But Lance choose to ignore it.

Keith smiled as he looked around the room, climbing to the pillows and sliding beneath the covers. “I like it.”

Lance relaxed giving a soft sigh, going over to the photo frame, tapping briefly on the panel, setting it back up to scroll as he liked it too, a couple of seconds for each photo in his favorite album. "..It's..a little out of the ordinary right now, ...I guess they sent a new maid.." He says shrugging a little. "But yea..I..painted it all myself..had to..kinda customize my space, yknow.." He says, flushing a little as he headed back over to the bed, settling quietly down on the other side of the bed. "..Let's..get some z's and...I can tour you later, okay..?" He says softly, offering a small smile.

Keith nodded, reaching out to cup his cheek. “Okay. Goodnight, love.” He yawned, shutting his eyes.

Lance smiled a little as he felt Keith's hand on his cheek, laying down, pulling the blankets over him a little, only to his waist, "...Goodnight, my love." He says softly, closing his eyes as well..emotionally exhausted.

Keith fell asleep quickly, but kept grumbling and rolling around once he was asleep.

Lance fell asleep after a few minutes, though waking up as Keith rolled over. He relaxed a little falling back asleep, ..after a few minutes beginning to flinch in his sleep.

Keith woke up when Lance accidentally elbowed him, grumbling and crawling closer to cuddle him

.Lance was quick to cuddle into Keith, still fully asleep, his shoulders tensing every few minutes, repeatedly. He remained completely asleep.

Keith rubbed his back soothingly, sighing into his chest and kissing him tiredly. “Sweet dreams,” he mumbled.

Lance finally started to relax, his shoulders still tensing..though less frequently, he was exhausted..his body emotionally drained. It didn't help that his mind was making things worse... Lance cuddled close to Keith, a soft drawn-out breath leaving him almost silently.

“That’s it.” Keith pecked his forehead and went back to sleep quickly, stilling rubbing his back absently.

Lance's body relaxed, though occasionally would flinched througout their sleep. Lance finally woke quite a few hours later, still emotionally exhausted..but at least his body felt more recharged.

Keith was still snoring, mouth hanging slightly agape as he drooled on Lance’s shoulder.

Lance gave a small smile as he felt Keith cuddled into him, tucking his head a little in, letting his eyes flutter closed again. He was honestly...so relieved. Keith was with him. He..had the real Keith.

Keith woke up not long after Lance, stretching his legs out and groaning. "Good morning..."

Lance sighed softly as he felt Keith stretch out. "..M-morning.." he says softly. Careful as he stretched a little, a short yawn leaving him, stifling it to the pillow beneath him.

Keith sat up and rubbed his eyes, hair sticking out in wild tangles around his head.

Lance sat up shortly after Keith, giving a short laugh, his own hair rather messed up as well..though only on one side, small pieces sticking straight up into the air while others were showing something Lance..had never really let be seen before, in small curls. "..You've got a bad case of bed head, Keith." he says, smirking softly.

“You too!” Keith shot back with a grin, leaning over to mess up Lance’s hair. “It’s all crazy.”

Lance flushed. "H-Hey! It's not that bad, at least mine isn't all the way crazy, heh" He says, smiling, moving his hand over to ruffle and slightly fix Keith's hair. "I mean..not that you're not still cute with your hair all crazy.."

Keith slid out of bed to stretch, bending over to touch his toes and crack his back. “What are we doing today?”

Lance gave a smile as he got out of bed, briefly stretching his arms and neck, rubbing his face. "..well first, ..I figured we'd take care of breakfast..then maybe I..can show you the gardens..?" Lance suggests, knowing fully well he still needed to wash his face. "Wanna split up and meet at the kitchen for breakfast, ..? I can show you where your room is...I'm willing to bet Kosmo's hanging around there somewhere.." He says offering a smaller smile.

Keith gasped quietly and smiled. “Oh, Kosmo... hold on. Kosmo!” He cried suddenly. “C’ mere, boy!”

Lance smiled, though quickly the smile vanishing as he moved back, Kosmo appearing in front of him, Lance falling back onto the bed. "Kosso!" He says, slightly shocked, giving a laugh, the smile quick to return as the mild shock wore off. Kosmo was quick to paw at Keith, seeming excited and happy.

Keith bent down to hug the dog so hard they both fell over. “Oh, baby boy... I missed you!”

Lance chuckled as Kosmo licked Keith repeatedly, his tail wagging rapidly. Kosmo was overjoyed that Keith was there. This wasn't the same Keith, though. ..Kosmo could tell. Through both smell, and the odd powers that well..being a celestial wolf-dog would have. Lance laughed softly. "I know he missed you...The copy..wasn't all cuddly with Kosmo like you.." He says, smiling.

“Of course he wasn’t, ‘cause my baby boy is so smart, isn’t he!? Yes, you are.” Keith cooed, kissing Kosmo’s face and neck.

Lance smiled watching Keith and Kosmo, leaning up and over to hug at Kosmo's body, running his hands happily through the fur. "He's a hell of a lot smarter than me, that's for sure!" He says as Kosmo licked where he could of Keith, absolutely adoring that the Keith he knew was back!

Keith stood back up with a content smile, sighing. “Yes... I can guess Shiro probably wants to talk to me, right?”

Lance frowned, the smile sliding down immediately. ".. Y-Yea... But in a way, I..think it's more because he feels bad, that..he didn't..know. ..But hey, you...you survived. I..told him that you had to have your reasons. It's..not easy revealing if something..l-like that happened, ..I know how you felt about it." He says.

Keith’s expression became unreadable as he looked down at the floor. “There’s no point in talking about it, it’s over.”

Lance frowned. "...You...don't have to explain that to me, What that person did was unforgivable, and it...It's fine if you know that it's over, just know that...Shiro's going to try and file charges back on Earth. But...I doubt it'll get that far, the statute of limitations..is probably up..." he says, frowning softly, lowering his voice, averting his eyes as well down..towards the floor, his hand briefly curling in Kosmo's fur. "...I do know how you feel though, ..w-with ...uh...Shiro's..clone." He says.

Keith nodded absently before his gaze snapped upwards with a hurt expression. “He- oh, Lance...”

Lance tensed as Keith's gaze snapped upwards, briefly biting his lip before speaking. "H-Hey, it's not like -- we're okay. He isn't ..that clone anymore. He's better, Shiro's our Shiro now and I'm living with it. I'm getting over that fear..." Lance paused, his shoulders lowering a little as he tried to un-tense himself physically. "..Please don't tell him, ..he'd never forgive himself.., I...I'm afraid to tell him, ..he might remember and it'd...just make it all worse." He says frowning deeply. "He doesn't need to know about any details, ..l-like you shouldn't have to tell him any details about it.." He says.

Keith shuffled over towards Lance and hugged his side quietly. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “The worst part is like- like I wanna talk about it, but not to anyone I know... cause I don’t want them to know but I want to let it out.”

Lance stayed quiet for a few moments after Keith finished talking, letting out a soft sigh. "... If...If you need someone to let it out on, ..if it..ever gets to be too much... You can always trust me, you can really..always trust me." He says offering a small smile and his hand, the other finally leaving Kosmo's fur. "...I'm never going to tell any of your secrets. ..Heck, ..I thought I was..telling the real you when I told the clone.... I...I never should have opened my big ass mouth.." He says, giving a short half attempted chuckle. "..I'm..telling you because I love you, ..and I trust you. With anything in my life.." He says, smiling a little half-heartedly, ...honestly..he was still grieving and regretting everything he'd done with...Both Clones. Shiro's..and more importantly Keith's. He owed it to Keith to be truthful..even if that truth could hurt.

Keith nodded quietly and tucked his face into Lance’s shoulder. “Thanks. For trusting me, and for being there for me...”

Lance let his cheek gently rest against Keith's hair. "..I'm always going to be here for you, Keith.., I never want you to feel alone, no matter what you're going through..no matter what you've been through.. I always want to be your right hand." He pauses. He stopped himself from telling the minor joke that popped into his head, knowing it'd be well out of place..and probably would only serve in getting himself punched.

Keith squeezed his hand and lifted his head to stand on his toes and kiss Lance on the cheek. “Let’s go, yeah?”

Lance relaxed a bit, giving a smile at the kiss, his cheeks flushing a bit. "Let me just wash my face real quick and we can head right on out." He says, giving a warm smile, He was so...unbelievably relieved to have Keith back..the real one. The one that could always manage to give him butterflies in all the simplest ways...The one he trusted with everything...with his own life on every single occasion.

Keith walked over to the mirror to braid his hair neatly, brushing it beforehand roughly. “Sure thing.”

Lance smiled as he headed into his attached bathroom, quick to grab his favorite wash. It wasn't long before he'd taken care of washing his face and quickly applying some moisturizing drops of liquid lotion. He rubbed under his eyes noting there were slight bags... Of course, he didn't sleep enough..that was one thing he wasn't going to be catching up on anytime soon. He put back on his smile as he exited the bathroom heading over to Keith and Kosmo, who was happily pacing back and forth around Keith's waist. "I bet he's super happy to have you back..almost as much as I am." He says chuckling.

Keith looked up at him with a soft smile and set Lance's hair comb down on the nightstand. "Yeah. Let's go."

Lance smiled warmly, giving a soft chuckle as Kosmo stuck directly beside Keith, following him as they left to head for the kitchen. "Oh..Hey, this is where your designated guest room's..at," he says as his smile fell, gesturing as they passed it. "...The...clone didn't bring any bags or anything, but ...your blade should still be in there, he...put it down..after the-" Lance paused, averting his eyes, the smile falling. "..He had it on him when..h-he got here.." He says, averting his eyes downward.

"Okay," Keith said softly, nodding. "Thanks for letting me know."

Lance gave a soft nod as they continued to the kitchen, the smile small but..rather quick to return. "..I'm not sure if there are any bagels left fresh, ..but I'm sure I can whip us up some decent food. I'm sure I can make something quick, and of course some more fresh meat for Kosmo." He says, giving a short chuckle, his hand drifting down to run through Kosmo's fur.

Shiro stood up from his spot at the counter and hugged Keith when he entered. "Can we talk?" He asked quietly. Keith nodded slowly. "Sure, man."

Lance averted his eyes as he saw Shiro. "Hey, ..Did..you still want me here, or..would you rather I go, so this can..yknow..be between you two." He says, offering a small firm smile. He was honestly...worried. He knew Shiro was probably very upset over this..but he didn't want to potentially put Keith in a situation that was negative for his mental health. "..I can stay if you want me to, Keith." He says softly.

"Yeah, can- uh, can you make me a bagel please?" Keith asked him softly, nodding.

Lance gave a soft nod. "Of course." He says, giving a small but warm smile, heading over to the bin, beginning to prep the bagels, listening...knowing if things got too intense, he'd step in. He didn't want to risk anything hurting Keith... He was honestly, worried. Sure it wasn't exactly a fresh wound, ..but that didn't change the fact that he had no clue how Keith was coping with the situation...what just had happened.. Everything.

Shiro and Keith sat down next to each other at the counter. "How long did it go on for?" Shiro asked quietly. Keith looked down at his hands. "Uhm... until you went on your Kerberos mission."

Lance listened, heating up and warming the bagel, cautiously listening. "..Hey,...Did you want butter or like..cream cheese spread?" He asks softly..knowing fairly well that interrupting would only prolong the issue..but he didn't want Keith to feel alone in the situation... After all, Lance was right there. He knew just how horrible it felt to tell what had happened.. even if this..wasn't the same situation.


	14. Cream Cheese

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW CHAPTER! RAPE MENTION, 18+ Themes. Hurt. Pain, ATTEMPTED HURT/COMFORT. Lance's own hidden past and pains all kept quiet. THIS CHAPTER IS PURE KEITH'S PAST.

"Cream Cheese," Keith said while Shiro cursed under his breath. "It- Keith... It was... it was Father Cameron, wasn't it?" Keith nodded again.

Lance frowned, giving a soft nod, as he got the spread out, taking out the now warmed softer bagel, spreading some of the cream cheese on, settling it on a plate, honestly feeling heartbroken. Keith..had gone through so much worse than himself, ..and he didn't know how he could help, except for being there..being present and supportive of Keith..heck he didn't know he could help himself in feeling better after all that had happened except for..ignoring it and pretending like it never happened. He pushed the plate across the table to Keith, giving a soft warm attempt at a smile..feeling honestly hollow inside. He let his hand drift down again to brush through Kosmo's fur, going back to start making a piece of fresh meat for the adorable celestial wolf-dog.

Shiro nodded quietly. "I'm trying not to get angry, I promise. And- and none of this was your fault, Keith." Keith shrugged and started eating the bagel quietly.

Lance added some oil to a pan, cooking the fresh meat, knowing well that Kosmo seemed to enjoy the cooked meat much better than the raw. He decided to keep his big mouth quiet, knowing that honestly speaking at this moment wouldn't do much to help either party. Of course, it wasn't Keith's fault..that Priest had to have been terrible to do such things. ..It felt like a dull ache in Lance's chest to know that Keith had been through so much worse than Lance..and at such a young age.

“When did it first happen?” Shiro murmured. 

“On my birthday,” Keith mumbled. “In fifth grade.”

Lance remained silent, thoughts flooding his mind. His memories quiet, knowing fully well...he didn't learn of Keith..until well after entering the Garrison. Lance thought back on his good childhood...god Keith must have had it hard. Lance sniffed quietly, unaware of the two would hear. He slid the finished cooked meat into a shallow bowl for Kosmo, setting it down on the ground. He...knew he didn't have anything that could make Keith feel better..and he worried if physical contact would only cause more issues..after all, Keith wasn't the physical type...

“It was in the basement,” Keith supplied dutifully. “He said he had a secret present for me in the basement and he told me that he was gonna make me feel really good.”

Lance frowned a little deeper as he decided..to try and distract himself by washing the pan. He remained silent, doing his best..to not cry. He felt empty inside...Keith, ...he had been through so much and it felt absolutely terrible.. he could hardly imagine how Shiro was feeling. He scrubbed away at the pan.

“And then he pulled his pants-“ Keith was starting to talk faster, hands sweating.

“Keith, you don’t have to tell me everything if you don’t want to,” Shiro said quickly.

Lance turned around as Keith spoke, not even letting Keith finish the statement. His eyes worriedly shifted between Keith and Shiro, there were tears in the rims of Lance's eyes, they hadn't fallen yet. He stayed quiet, knowing fully well the awkward silence..was unnerving. Before Lance even realized it..he had gone around the table and was carefully standing behind Keith, a hand coming down around Keith's side to take Keith's sweating hand into his own. He stayed silent, honestly..heartbroken, but having a feeling he ..he just needed to be there with Keith...Physically there with Keith. Not across the room, Right there..in his grasp.

Keith gasped quietly and looked up at him. “Oh- Uhm, jeez, sorry...” he murmured. 

“Keith?” Shiro sighed. “You- you can talk if you want to.”

Lance averted his eyes a little, the deep frown remaining on his lips. He gave a short nod to Keith. "..O-Only if you want to, Keith..If..if it feels better talking about it.." He says softly. Honestly..he knew he was being awkward, but..it only felt right that Lance was directly beside Keith. Supporting him in the..only way he knew how. Lance gave a soft squeeze to Keith's hand.

Keith nodded and started again quietly. “He took it out and told me to uhm, suck it and then- and then I threw up because he pushed it too deep and then he said that I did well.”

Lance listened quietly, he swallowed silently, He was upset...Keith had been through so much, and so young..and even now he..was able to speak about it... It took so much courage to simply..admit what had happened. Lance felt hollow...He didn't know if He'd ever been able to do what Keith was doing right then...

Keith stopped talking and swallowed thickly, squeezing Lance’s hand. “Please don’t see me differently,” he mumbled. “I didn’t wanna be like this either.”

Lance frowned. "..I could never see you any differently.. you're so damn brave, you're so..incredibly strong to speak.." he says softly, keeping his voice down. "You can be, however you want to be..because that's who you are.." he says softly, giving soft squeezes to Keith's hand.

Keith smiled at him brokenly, squeezing his hand back lovingly. “Thank you, Lance.” He sighed. “Can... can I keep going?”

"If you want to sure." He says softly, returning the soft heartbroken smile. He was honest..so amazed by Keith's strength, and bravery... He felt like his heart was going to crack hearing the man he loved to go through such hardships..and that was only his childhood... Anger..spiked through towards the priest...but Lance knew he couldn't hold onto that anger if he wanted to help Keith.

“Next Sunday he brought me to the basement again and said that I was so... pretty, a-and I was more grown-up than all the other girls in his class, so I thought I was special,” Keith explained.

Lance gently squeezed Keith's hand, the tears were rising once again, but he blinked them back. If Keith..could be strong enough to overcome this..then he could be strong. Lance briefly glanced at Shiro before returning his attention to Keith.

“And then he told me to take off my pants and sit on this- this thing that looked like a saddle but I didn’t know it vibrated. And- and when it turned on I screamed and he made me stop and he said he wanted to see my face.”

Lance's heart broke for Keith...He had gone through so much,.. and hurt so much.. all without Shiro knowing. It was so deeply messed up. It made the small ball of rage in Lance's chest well up. He hated it ...those negative feelings... Keith was hurt so deeply by that asshole who claimed to a priest... Lance briefly wiped his eyes, clearing away a small number of tears. Giving a soft squeeze to Keith's hand.

Keith sniffed quietly when he realized he was shaking. “He told me that this was- a special secret and I couldn’t tell anyone or I wouldn’t go to heaven.”

Lance carefully moved down to hug Keith to him. "..He was so fucked up.," he says quietly, squeezing Keith's hand gently. It upset him to know how much this asshole misled Keith, and hurt him so horribly.

Keith swallowed thickly, shutting his eyes to concentrate. "So I didn't tell you, Shiro. Not even when he put it- y'know, inside me, and it hurt real bad."

Lance sighed softly, worriedly looking between the man he loved and Shiro..the man he in some ways, feared. Lance was worried about Keith. ".. You ...could y'know..press charges, Keith..i-if you want to.." he says softly. "...So that he ..can't hurt anyone else.."

“I don’t...” Keith sighed through his nose. “I don’t know.” He whispered. “Are you gonna make me?”

Lance frowned. "..I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do, Keith...I love you so much...I could never make you do something so hard... You've already shown you can move past that horrible person. " He says softly.

Keith flushed softly and nodded. “He...” he sniffed quietly and covered his face in his hands. “He gave me birth control.”

"..H-He was still a horrible person, ...t-that doesn't matter...he was fucking terrible f-for what he did to you." He says, frowning deeply, hugging Keith to him, pressing a short kiss to Keith's hair. "...I love you, ..no matter what that horrible person did to you.." he says softly. He was worried about Shiro's reaction to the whole situation.

Shiro was watching Keith quietly as he talked, wiping away his tears. 

“Thank you,” Keith murmured, squeezing Lance briefly.

Lance wiped his own eyes a little, hugging Keith to him as best he could. "..You're so beyond brave..f-for even being able to talk about it, Keith.." He says softly. He honestly knew..he one day would have to tell Shiro..but it terrified him to even think about explaining to Shiro..what ..the body he was in ..had done. ..especially not without the potential..for Shiro to remember. Sure Lance was traumatized, but what Keith had gone through was a million times worse...

“No- I’m- it’s just- it’s all just coming out and I can’t stop it,” Keith gasped quietly, rubbing his eyes. “Once I missed my period and- and I thought he got me pregnant and I almost tried to kill myself.”

Lance tensed. He didn't know what to say to Keith.. He..he felt like his heart was shattered. "..H-He...He was terrible, ..f-fucking horrible.." He says quietly, tears in his eyes, occasionally trying to wipe his face. "..You s-survived, that's..t-that's all that matters, baby... "

“And it was so scary, so scary, and he started choking me once and I thought I was going to die!” Keith whispered urgently.

Lance pressed several kisses to Keith's cheek. "B-baby, please... I-If you don't want to talk p-please stop.." He says, the tears falling rather rapidly. He felt horrible... "I-I love you... Y-you've survived...You're..y-you're doing so much better than that asshole..H-He deserves nothing but death, baby.."

“Can’t stop,” Keith spat out, hugging Lance close and hiding in his shoulder. “He said he was allowed to- allowed to touch m-me because I’m retarded and I- and I deserve it, oh my god I feel sick.”

Lance gently shushed Keith, hugging him tightly to his chest, tears falling down his cheeks. "N-Nobody's allowed to touch you without your consent,...N-Nobody. You're so damn smart, you're so amazingly s-smart, Keith." He says, his voice low and quiet, holding Keith to him, desperately holding back the soft sobs that wanted to escape him. "Y-You control you, you control what happens to you...I promise. Y-You're going to be okay, Y-you don't deserve that...Nobody deserves something like that, baby" He says, gently rubbing Keith's back, worried and crying softly.

“I know- I know, it’s just- It’s happening again in my head and he- and he said that I was made for him and god meant for it to be like this and- I’m gonna puke.”

Lance pressed a kiss to Keith's head, moving away for only a moment to grab the small trash can, pushing it in front of Keith. "He's wrong..S-so so very wrong. He..H-He's horrible.." he says softly, the tears rolling down his cheeks as Keith spoke. Honestly..so upset that Keith, the person he adored had to go through such hardships.

Keith leaned over the trash can to vomit a little, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I can't talk about it anymore. I'm sorry."

Lance hugged Keith gently. "You don't have to, you don't, baby...It's okay. You don't need to be sorry, Keith. You're okay..you did nothing wrong, he was the one who messed up, What he did was beyond wrong, and so unbelievably messed up,...I'm s-so sorry you had to go through that." Lance says, tears still slowly rolling down his cheeks, handing a couple of napkins from the table for Keith, Lance swept a little of his hair out of his face when he pulled back from the trashcan. Deeply saddened that Keith had to go through any of it, let alone as a child..and with someone, he thought he could trust.

Keith wiped his mouth and coughed into the napkins, nodding quickly. “It’s okay, I’m fine, don’t worry.” He sniffed.

Lance frowned. "Y-You're fine now... Y-you don't have to worry about anyone ever touching you without consent again.. I..I'm sorry I did, even just to hug you." He says, softly, parting from Keith. ".. I... I just hate hearing..w-what terrible things you've gone through...I know it hurts.. a-and you'll always have me by your side..with you, Keith... "He says, averting his eyes, knowing full well he probably didn't help the situation by hugging on Keith... He was indeed still worried about Keith

Keith nodded and wiped his eyes, looking up at Shiro with a guiltily frown. “I’m sorry Shiro,” 

“It’s okay, Keith. It’s not your fault.” Shiro sighed.

Lance sighed softly. "..I-It'll never be your fault, Keith.. O-Or yours Shiro...you didn't know. You couldn't have stopped him, or prevented it." He says, honestly...feeling empty inside. Keith was so damn brave to be able to tell his story..but Lance was still horrified to try and even explain what he'd been through..He..didn't feel so much that he would get sick..but that Shiro would remember and..hold it against Lance. Lance didn't want to relive what had happened... He didn't think he'd be able to do what Keith had so bravely spoken about. Lance..was afraid of the risks that could occur if Shiro's memories were indeed revealed to him what ..Shiro himself had done.


	15. Out of the Closet..a 5th time?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I'm back on..uh, yeah. Quiche quit, so I don't have a partner to finish this with. Sad. But it goes on for another like..40 chapters? LOTS OF CONTENT TO GO

Lance smiled as he was careful, but still managed to prick himself at least twice on the small amount of thorns on the blue flowers, flushing a little as he removed some of the thorns and leaves, finally resulting in breaking two stems a little shorter.

Keith reached over to help him with smaller fingers, flicking away the thorns and smiling. "There."

Lance smiled as Keith helped him to pick away some of the thorns. "Thanks." he says, flushing as he showed Keith the small bouquet he had put together. "..I'm sure together we've definitely got enough.."

Keith nodded and gathered both bunches of flowers together. “We should go put this by Allura’s statue!”

Lance flushed, giving a firm smile. "Sounds like an good plan, ..I havent visited in a couple weeks." He says, giving a smile, knowing fully well..he had been avoiding her statue, though as silly as it was.

Keith smiled back at him and gathered his hair into a loose ponytail with his free hand. “Then let’s go.”

Lance smiled following Keith. "There's a path past the clearing..past the paladins of old." He says giving a soft chuckle. "..Y'know, I never thought it'd be you and me bringing flowers to Allura's statue. Heck, I never thought it'd be you and me, period. We were such stupid young teenagers." He says giving a chuckle.

Keith nodded and watched him out of the corner of his eye. “Yeah. I’m... this everything I could ever ask for, honestly.”

Lance smiled as he walked with Keith. "And it just..it feels so damn right to finally be able to do so." He says, flushing a little as they aoproached and turned onto the path that led to Allura's statue.

Keith stood on his toes when they reached the podium on which Allura's statue stood on, placing the flowers carefully around her feet.

Lance smiled as they reached Allura's statue...again, a sadder smile. He still in some ways missed her.. even if it took so very very long for her to even think of him as a friend, let alone a person she might love. But..he knew that despite all she did, the thing she did best..was unconditionally love. Even if that love was always destined to be for someone or something else. Lance settled his flowers down as well, besides Keith, laying them out a little in a small flower pattern of their own.

Keith stepped back to look up at the statue with a bittersweet smile, itching his forearms beneath his shirt sleeves.

He was honestly ...sad still. But he knew he had to stay positive. It's..the best thing about him. He wasn't allowed to be weak. "..I miss her, ..." He says softly. "...I loved her, ..the way she cared about all of us, no matter how much we messed up, no matter what we went through, she still cared." He says keeping his voice down, looking up at the statue. "..I'll probably always miss her.."

Keith turned to him with a soft sigh. “We all miss her, but not like you do. The most I can do is just be here for you.”

Lance gave a soft smile, glancing over at Keith, turning. "..And trust me, you're..all I need now. ..You've always been in the back of my mind. Even before she finally liked me..finally took notice. You were always there for me. No matter if it was late nights when the castle was quiet, ..or here. Now.." He says, his cheeks flushing a little, "Keith..you've always been here when I needed you most. ..and sure, when you went with the marmora I couldn't..talk to you on a daily basis anymore, and I kinda..secluded myself." He says awkwardly bringing up an hand to rub his neck. "..But whenever I got the chance to talk to you, it..it felt like you were right there, beside me." He says giving another smile.

Keith smiled and pulled him into a hug by the waist, kissing his neck and sticking his face in Lance’s shoulder. “I love you so much... you’re so good to me.”

Lance relaxed a bit as he was pulled into the hug, wrapping his arms around Keith. "..G-God you have no idea how much I love you.. You're incredible.." He says softly. "..Just being with you, makes everything better.." He says softly, keeping his voice down, tucking his own face into Keith's shoulder. ..He felt like he could just..tell anything to Keith.

Keith nodded and started rubbing Lance’s back softly, shutting his eyes and sighing shakily. “I know that the clone moved way too fast. I just- seriously, I just wanna do anything to make you feel as good as you make me feel.”

Lance's shoulders raised a little as Keith rubbed his back, tears rising, he a little forcefully blinked them back. No..Now wasn't the time for tears. There wasn't time for tears. Lance pressed a soft kiss to Keith's shoulder. "...I know you do, ..a-and it's okay.. I shouldn't have let him move so fast.." He paused. "..I didn't make you feel good, though..I..made him feel good, ..and it was a mistake.." He says softly, hugging a little tighter. "..I want to ...spend as much time with you as we need, ..t-to take it slow as you want.."

Keith smiled and started pressing soft kisses to his neck. “Hey, I care about you, too. Your opinion matters as well.”

Lance pulled back a little, his arms failing to leave Keith's waist. "..I love you, ..and I'm so sorry I let him rush, ...I..felt off a lot of the time, ..b-but I still...kind of blamed it on the alcohol, but when he recovered and he still wanted to go fast, I.. wasn't sure if.. I could trust him the way I trust you.. " he paused, averting his eyes. "I..felt like I needed to wall myself off again.. but with you, ..I don't need to..., " he says bringing his eyes back to Keith, offering a small smile.

Keith smiled back and leaned in to peck his lips. “Good. I want you to feel safe around me like I do around you.”

Lance kissed back gently, relieved. "..I love you, ..and I..don't think I could ever not trust you again, ..I know you're different." He says softly. "..You have no idea how good it feels to finally be..with the real you..." He says, giving a short chuckle, his cheeks flushing lightly. "..I'll be ready when you want me, ..and I hope you'll be ready too.." He says giving a soft smile. He truly had been a bit nervous about how the clone wanted to go so far..so fast.

Keith smiled at him and tucked his chin into Lance’s chest with a happy sigh. “It’s been so long since I’ve been hugged.”

Lance hugged keith back to him, pressing a soft kiss to Keith's forehead. "..I'm so damn happy I get to hug you, ..and you'll get plenty of hugs from me from now on, I can promise you that.." he says, smiling. "whenever you want a hug, I'll be there to give you it.." he says, relieved and honestly..happy. he had Keith. The real Keith, the one he felt he could always be honest with. The one he adored so very deeply.

Keith squeezed him around the waist and chuckled quietly. “It’s... so weird. To feel so, uhm... to be so affectionate with someone.”

Lance gave a soft laugh. "..It's not weird,..It feels good, to me.. to be able to hold someone I love, ..and trust, with every aspect of my body.." he says warmly. "...Being affectionate with you is definitely the best.."

Keith fidgeted with the buttons on Keith’s jacket. “I know it isn’t weird, it just feels weird.”

Lance smiled. "...Hey, ..I don't know how to make it feel less weird, but..we could always just keep things platonic if you'd like..Until we're ready to try for more.." He says softly, smiling a little.

Keith leaned back and shook his head, snorting. “Hell no-! I don’t wanna go back to being awkwardly platonic.”

Lance chuckled a little. "..good, cause being platonic was weird, but knowing we love each other would definitely make it harder. Hah" he says

Keith nodded and stepped back to play with his hair nervously. “What were we gonna do next?”

Lance smiled a little as they parted. "..Well, ...did you want to maybe..see another mini, pet project I've been working on? ..when..we first seperated, y'know how I tried to introduce farming to Altea..?" He asks, his cheeks coloring a little.

Keith gave him a knowing smile and nodded. "What, do you have a big greenhouse somewhere?"

"..Not really, but I kind of managed to get some of the alteans ...really into spreading other planets gathered seeds. We..may have found a couple ways to recover the planets we've..lost." he says averting his eyes a little, the smile smaller, a little uncertain.

“That’s amazing,” Keith beamed, eyes wide. “Can you- I mean, uhm... if you want to, can I see?”

Lance gave a soft nod, smiling a little. "Sure, It's not that much of a walk away." He says, giving a soft chuckle, offering out Keith's hand. "It's going pretty well, we've got some native Olkari plants being grown, and a couple from the surfaces of a few different bulmera..I was surprised any of them were actually surviving here.."

Keith listened to him with a fond smile and a nod, playing with his hair subconsciously. “What kind of plants?”

Lance smiled. "Well, a couple seem to come back better during certains seasons. Less flowers, more like....Seasonal plants and vegetables." He says, leading Keith off one of the many paths away from the gardens. "..Its pretty plain, but..y'know at least we're trying. Maybe we can even find a way to bring back the lands forces of nature, if we bring back enough.., I think Pidge will enjoy helping the Alteans with that soon...

Keith nodded along as they walked away from the statues, humming thoughtfully. "So some of them are still adapting to the environment?"

Lance smirked giving a nod. "Yep, ..We've had a couple set backs in the past few months, with two of the rarer vegetable seeds..dying out, but I think with enough effort we can figure out how they evolved to have..yknow..spirits of their own.." He says giving a smile. "..I swear Olkari plants are the weirdest plants we've got here in Altea.." He says giving a chuckle as he crossed the path, they were approaching a ridge that overlooked onto the landscape. The area was bathed in sunlight, while the shade had covered some of the land they were in.

Keith squinted out at the horizon, smiled. "Oh, wow. This is beautiful," He noted, squeezing Lance's hand. "You're gonna make it super hard when I have to leave."

The landscape was covered in vine filled plants, leading from where the hill downsloped into a valley. At the bottom..was a lovely river that ran parallel to the natural Valley. Lance sighed. "..Its hard to want to stay.." he says averting his eyes. He was pretty happy that maybe the remains of Olkari could be fixed..but he worried that with the majority of culture..gone. that maybe it was all in vain to try and preserve their vegetables and plants. Each section was labelled a different planet, and sorted by colors.

"It's so gorgeous," Keith sighed, staring out at the scenery. He suddenly paled and looked over at Lance nervously. "Wait, uhm... so, they gave me hallucinations while I was captured and I need to know if I actually told you something."

Lance paused, frowning deeply. "..w-what do you mean..? ..Told me what, Keith..?" He asks, softly, taking Keith's hand giving it a soft squeeze.

“The... uhm...” Keith swallowed thickly and started to shuffle in place. “That I’m... uhm, I have... I’m on the autistic spectrum.”

Lance seeemed momentarily confused. "..No, the clone didn't tell me, Keith.. It's okay though. I don't really care if you're autistic, you're you...and if you've got any triggers,..besides ..yknow what we've already experienced..we can talk about it." he says giving a small smile. "..besides, I'm sure you've guessed by now by issues, if..you didn't already know them from before.." he says giving a short slightly forced chuckle.

“Yeah,” Keith mumbled, starting to flush bright pink. “Please don’t tell anyone. It’s not- it’s not really bad, it’s- I promise I’m not stupid...”

"..Keith you don't have to tell me anything. You're incredibly smart, You're instinctive, you're beyond freaken capable..There isn't a single thing that I could think bad about you..well except for your hair." he says giving a soft chuckle, moving in a little to swipe Keith's hair a little to the side. "Better.." he says smiling. "You're perfect, just the way you are."

Keith squinted and glanced up at his hair as Lance fixed it. “Okay... thank you. I- uhm, hah,” he laughed nervously to try and make himself stop blushing. “What’s next?”

Lance smiled, pressing a soft kiss to Keith's cheek. "..How about I show you the new art gallery, it's..basically where the data library is." he says smiling.

Keith smiled excitedly at him. “I love art! I heard- I heard you like it too, is that right?”


	16. The Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, continuing. uh. Summaries.

Keith climbed over him and frowned, cupping his cheeks and kissing him. “You don’t look to hot. I’m gonna go try and talk to some people and I want you to try not to worry, and drink some water.”

Lance kissed back, frowning deeply. "..Keith, I need to find out who sent this, ..why they did it? ...I-I have no idea who the hell would be trying to court me now..They know I'm yours, there's..no reason to send this stupid hat." He says, a bit urgent, worried, trying to sit up, he knew it wasn't safe for him to be wandering the halls. Though he knew the healing pods were now functional, he didn't want to waste time by fixing his minor issue.

“Hey, hey...!” Keith sat back with a worried frown. “Is this something to be worried about, babe? You’re freaking out.”

Lance swallowed softly, tense and a bit upset. He wanted to know who the hell sent him that hat.. and why? "..I- ....n-no, no. There's..got to be some mistake. I..sorry, I'm just overthinking." he says, averting his eyes, frowning. He hated the idea of someone else trying to court him, knowing fully well..no matter who it was, he loved Keith. Nobody but Keith.. Whoever sent that had, must have made a mistake. There was no way they'd actually try anything.. The hat must be some stupid mistake..

Keith leaned forward to hug him, rubbing his back with a frown. “Shhh... calm down. We can figure this out once you’re calm.”

Lance hugged back, biting his lip, averting his eyes down. "..I..I don't think it's..a good idea for me to go, right now.." he says, honestly...rather terrified at the idea of someone trying to court him. ".....I ...we need to figure out who did this.."

“You’re not gonna, babe.” Keith strikes his cheek and kissed him softly. “Just sloooow down. We have all the time in the world to work it out, okay?”

Lance pressing a careful kiss back to Keith. "..I love you, ..Im worried about who did this," he says quietly, trying to calm down, knowing fully well he couldn't let his worry overwhelm him. He was that person anymore..

Keith nodded and started rubbing his shoulders gently. “I’m going to go talk to Shiro, alright? We can work this out.”

Lance nodded a little, biting his lip. "..Y-yeah, ..thanks..I..Im sorry, I'm ..freaking out, I've never seen this hat outside the book I..hid from tne libraries.. It..it's not even available digitally..I don't know how they made it.." he says honestly still freaking out a bit. "..thank you.." he says.

“Huh.” Keith shrugged and gave a weak frown. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m gonna go, okay? You wanna come?”

Lance sighed, pulling the blanket up around his shoulders. "N-no, ..no, I'm..definitely not okay right now.." he says, giving a slightly forced unsure smile. He hated the feelings that were nearly overwhelming for him. "..G-go, find out what you can, .. I'll be here." He says, honestly rather upset. His head was pounding still and his vision was continuing to be a minor problem.

Keith went out in Lance’s robe, looking to find a maid. “Excuse me,” he tapped her shoulder with a frown. “Can I speak to you?”

The maid shrugged her shoulders turning to see Keith, nearly dropping the towel she was holding, quick to recover. "Of course, what about?" She asked, offering a smile.

“Who is the courting hat from?” He asked. “Someone left it in a box at Lance’s door.”

The maid seemed confused as she looked at Keith. "It's from Sir Coran, He requested it to be dropped off this morning." She says, rather simply. "Is there a problem with Lance beginning courtship so soon..?" She asks. She was to be truthful..oblivious as to Lance and Keiths relationship. Though was beginning to question why the man before her was wearing the prince's robes..

“Oh. Alright.” Keith pursed his lips and sighed. “He’s really upset about it... he says he hasn’t ever seen one in real life.”

The maid shrugged. "I heard Heidmar was up all night making it. Though I'm not sure how." She says. "..But why is the prince upset? Courting is incredibly important to finding out if the person is a soulmate! Nobody would ever want to stay with someone that didn't fit for them." She says frowning.

"Soulmate?" Keith blushed and started fidgeting. "So, did... whoever made it for him wasn't romantically interested in him, or were they?"

The maid nodded, offering a smile. "Sir Coran told us that gifting a courting garment is one of two things...either Someone wishes to court the receiver, ..or someone approves of one to be courted." She says smiling. "I wouldn't doubt that the Prince has beings that would die to be courted by him."

Keith nodded slowly and wrapped his arms around himself. “Right... well he’s very worried. He’s already romantically involved with someone.”

The maid seemed confused. "He is courting someone already...? Without seeing if they are a soulmate..? ..Weird customs to try.." she says, a bit concerned. "..I know it's not my place to question the Prince of course...I'm not sure the courting garment to be either gesture."

Keith sighed and looked over his shoulder nervously. "It's me. I'm in a relationship with him. He's- he's really worried that someone else wants to court him, he didn't want to leave the room."

The maid seemed confused, frowning. "..Hes with you? Oh, ..Uh.." she paused, seeming a little worried. "..I understand why he fears the garment then, ..it's traditionally given between male alteans and their assigned to be courted being.." she says frowning. "..Maybe Coran will have the answers you need..?"

Keith frowned and nodded, reaching out to pat her shoulder. "Thank you for your help, ma'am." He went back down the hall and towards the library.

She gave a firm nod and a small smile. "No problem" she says, as Keith walked away, giving a short worried look. Lance was still in bed, having only left the bed once to get a glass of water. His headache was subsiding a little after drinking. Coran was in the main transfer bay of the castle.

Keith stopped into the room and sat at the edge of the bed. "Hi, love. The maid said that, uhm... Heidmar made the hat. Who is that?"

Lance let out a soft stream of air from his mouth as Keith came in, rubbing his head a little. "..Heidmar.. ? Oh..right, Heidy.. She's..like this old timey kinda mom figure, I guess..She helps Coran when he wants to replicate something from the past a lot..She once asked to make t-this uh..cloak kinda thing? it wasn't a courting cloak, but like a ..recepting cloak, I guess...to kind appoint me as their..prince I guess.." he says, a little conflicted. "..So, ..she made the hat?" he says, his eyebrows narrowing. "...There's no way that she ..wants me, She's into one of the knights.. " he paused. "..But why in the world would Coran want to give me a courting hat..?" he says, thinking aloud, honestly..very confused.

"I don't know." Keith sighed. "She also said it might be for you to give to someone else?"

Lance seemed confused for a minute. "..give to someone else..? ..There's only one person I love, Keith..that's you. I never would give it to anyone but-" his eyes widened a little. "Do ..do you think he wanted me to give it to you..? To...court you? oh god, fuck that..t-their courting is like..so lame." He says, his cheeks were pinking really quickly.

Keith chuckled and shrugged, kissing his shoulder. “I don’t know, love. I was going to go talk to Coran. Do you want to come now?”

Lance sighed softly, biting his lip. "...I..yea, ..I wanna figure out what Coran meant when he sent this here. Why he had it made. It's..like so weird, and it's not like something to take lightly, so it's even weirder.." He says, averting his eyes he says, moving to get up, pressing a soft kiss to Keith's cheek.

Keith smiled and kissed him back, waiting by the door. “Well, lets go ask him, yeah? He’s easy to talk to.”

Lance smiled a little, getting up, tugging on a shirt rather quickly. "..maybe we should bring the hat.." he says, shrugging as he grabbed the box, where he'd replaced the hat. "..Y-Yeah, let's go ask him..I ..I better not have anyone else trying to muscle in my love life, you're the only one for me."

Keith smiled and slid an arm around Lance's waist as they left the room, head on his shoulder.

Lance smiled a little, hugging Keith a bit with on arm. "..I love you, yknow." he says as they left Lance's room heading for the main bay of the castle. He was honest..still terrified and desperately questioning why in the world Coran would give him a damn courting hat..despite how nice it looked. He wondered the possible reason for it. Knowing fully well the only person that would give one to him..would technically be Keith, and the only one He could give one to would be Keith..

“Well, he might have given it to you to give to me...? I don’t know how it works, but that sounds possible.”

Lance seemed a little confused for a moment, he shrugged. "..I guess, ..I mean, I know the only person I'd give this to..is you Because you're mine..and I'm yours.." he says, honestly concerned. He knew it was probable that Coran knew they were together...

Keith nodded and gave him a small kiss. “Don’t worry, babe. Everything is okay.”

Lance kissed back, relaxing a little. "..I hope it's gonna be.. Coran's got to have figured out by now that I'm yours, ..if Pidge and Hunk and of course Shiro could figure it out, ...Coran must-have."

“Yeah.” Keith agreed with a soft smile. “Coran will know what to do, even if it’s news to him.”

Lance smiled as he walked with Keith, the smile falling as they reached the main bay where Coran was working on a panel, using a stylus on the screen to detail out some plans on the projected panel. Lance swallowed softly as he approached Coran. "..Hey, Coran. Did you..uh, ...send something to my room..?" He asks, hesitantly. 

"Yea, Lance. Had to make sure you were-" he cut off realizing Keith was beside Lance. "Oh! You're doing the honors here?!" He asks, seeming shocked, putting down the pen. "But his mother isn't here.." Coran says seeming confused. Lance's eyebrows narrowed. "Wait what..?"

Keith gave him a very confused frown. “Huh? What... what honors? We came to ask what all this was about.”

"Well, boys. The Altean courting hat is a ritual that I began to show Lance when he started to court Allura on Earth! I didn't have the resources there to properly show him how to court someone..but now we do! Therefore the hat." He overexplains, gesturing. "Its the honor of you two being of courting age! And for you both choosing your courting partners.." He says cheerfully, smiling warmly, giving a wink. 

Lance's eyebrows narrowed, his cheeks flushing red. He was embarrassed and still a little worried. "So, ...It's..not someone else wants me to court them..? It's..for us?!" He says honestly confused. 

Coran smiled, nodding. "Its the honors of you two being together! Being betrothed!" He comments.

Keith smiled and nudged Lance’s side with a happy chuckle. “See!? Everything is okay, my love. You worry too much.”

Lance sighs softly, relieved smiling. "You know I always worry too much.." he says giving a short chuckle, wiping his face briefly. "Coran, you scared me half to death! You said people only get these when they want to court them! I thought that someone wanted me to court them, or..that someone wanted to court me. Ugh..what a misunderstanding.." he says shrugging his shoulders. He was relieved. It..wasn't a bad thing.   
Coran nodded. "Ohh. Yes, there are a few purposes for the courting hat! But this case is simply to congratulate you two on finding love in each other! It's astounding Lance, Keith how you two have gotten together, and how long it took." He says giving a chuckle, stroking his mustache as if reminiscing.

Keith slid his arms around Lance’s waist and kissed his cheek. “See? You can relax.” He turned back to Coran. “Sorry, we missed breakfast.”

Lance smiled, averting his eyes a little. "Yea, t-thanks...Sorry, We definitely didn't mean to sleep through breakfast." He says, shrugging softly. He felt stupid for having panicked so badly. 

Coran smiled. "It's alright, I'm sure there's some food still hanging around the kitchen. I'm sure you two can whip some food up," he says warmly, giving a soft chuckle, picking back up his pen. "I might be going out later with a few others to a nearby Bulmera, there are reports that it's in need of rejuvenation. Perhaps you two could join us..? We could use all the able alteans.." He says, offering it as a suggestion. He knew that any healing force could be beneficial.


	17. The Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well shit now I'm obligated to call the next chapter "The answer" ...fuck. Uh. Hi. Humanity. Uh. SUMMARIES!

Lance watched Keith, smiling warmly. The Bulmeran running the booth nodded to Keith. "They're very pretty, but they do have thorns. We can clip them if you'd like to take some with you." He says, smiling over at both Keith and the Altean Prince. "..They make a wonderful bonding token." He comments.

Keith smiled over at Lance and nodded. “That would be great, thank you. Can I get some of these purple ones?”

Lance flushed slightly at the Bulmeran's comment. The Bulmeran nodded swiftly. "Of course, no problem! They're on the house, ..considering the intense healing you've provided our home." He says calmly, picking up a few of the purple flowers, beginning to clip off the thorns, making sure to get them all. He handed over the small bouquet to Keith. Lance averted his eyes, smiling.

Keith grinned at the Bulmeran and gave a small nod of his head in respect. “Thank you so much. It’s been so long since I’ve seen a flower.”

The Bulmeran smiled. "Thank you two, both..for your incredible healing of our home. ..I'm glad our flowers can make you feel joy." He says, cheerfully, briefly rubbing his neck. Lance smiled, moving a little closer to Keith. "They're really pretty.." Lance says softly.

Keith nodded and held them up for Lance to sniff. “They kind of remind me of you. I can’t explain why.”

Lance blushed again, leaning in a little to sniff at the flowers. "..Probably cause they're beautiful like me. And yknow..absolutely stunning..like you." he says, giving a soft chuckle.

Keith snorted and nodded, folding his arms. “Well, at least you’re honest.”

Lance let out a soft laugh, hugging Keith a little from the side. "Of course I'm honest, I know how hot I am, but I also know you're still way outta my league."  
(January 1st 2020 mark)  
Keith shook his head and grinned, waving him off dismissively. “No I’m not!”

Lance chuckled. "Yes you are. Who else has the silkiest hair before me? You. Who has the best complexion in the entire Galaxy? You. Who has literally taken on Zarkon, held his own and lived to tell the tale!" He says smirking. "only. You."

Keith rolled his eyes and blushed, crossing his arms defensively. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

Lance smirked softly, pressing a kiss to Keith's cheek. "You're way outta my League and I'm head over heels for you." Lance says glancing between Keith and the flowers. .. unbeknownst to the two, ..the ground beneath their shoes was glowing..

Keith took the flowers and handed them to Lance. “About this courting thing. When can we do it?”

Lance shrugged, accepting the flowers. "Honestly..I have no clue, it's..kind of an anywhere any kinda thing... Theres not really a lot of rules besides the stupid outfit and ..asking to court, but I am so not making you do that!" He says laughing softly, his cheeks lightly flushed.

Keith smiled up at him nervously. “Then what are we waiting for?”

Lance shrugged a little, smiling a bit, his cheeks flushed a bit deeper. "..I-I guess..i-it's pretty similar to regular dating for..earthlings besides..the stupid clothes. It's just got like..gift giving and stuff.." he says, giving a soft chuckle as they left the booth heading further down the isle, Lance holding the flowers just over his stomach, his cheeks clearly redder than before. The land beneath them, was trailing behind them, a glow following them even as they walked.

Keith linked their arms together and looked at all the booths quietly, noticing the stares that they were getting with a frown.

Lance walked with Keith, their arms linked, a bit distracted by the booths. He knew they would be getting stared at..after all, their legacy followed them everywhere. But Little did either of them know, that behind them, was a glowing trail..the planets quintessence reacting to their moods. The Bulmerans were whispering to each other, just out of earshot about the two and what it must mean.

Keith looked down and noticed the glow with a quiet gasp, but turned his attention away, not wanting to worry Lance.

Lance turned to Keith, having heard the quiet gasp. He seemed a little confused. "Did you see anything you like?" He asks smiling a bit. He was honestly happy that he was even able to spend this time on the Bulmera. It had felt like forever since he had last been able to leave Altea.

Keith nodded and hummed to himself quietly. “I saw some nice tunics over there. You want to check it out?”

Lance smiled warmly, giving a soft chuckle. "Sure, I'm sure we'd both look good in tunics." he says, giving Keith's forearm a soft squeeze, their arms remaining linked as they headed over. The glow remained beneath them..though trailing slightly behind them.

Keih leaned into him and nuzzled his cheek into his shoulder. “I love you, Lance.”

Lance relaxed as he walked with keith, smiling as they went to the stand. "..You know I love you more, though, right?" He says, warmly. The stand was filled with differently colored tunics, many having gold in their edges, not heavily detailed..but enough to easily recognize where they were made.

Keith began to look through the racks of clothing, glancing back at Lance with a sweet smile. "Not possible."

Lance chuckled softly. "Definitely possible. You're incredible..I've told you time and again." he says, starting to look through the clothes, noting the various colors and designs, and their shimmery appearance of some of the fabric.

Keith grinned at him playfully and picked a tunic off the rack. “I like this one. You know, Galra culture is pretty weird.”

Lance chuckled softly as he looked back at Keith. "..I bet, ..though I'd love to know more about Galra culture." he says, admiring the tunic.

"I don't know... it's a bit embarrassing. They're so much more animalistic than all the other cultures I've seen." Keith explained

Lance shrugged. "..can't be worse than Altean mating rituals.." he says giving a chuckle. "It still sounds interesting, yknow.."

"No, it's probably worse!" Keith laughed. "There's this thing- they're called heats and ruts? But, there's like a fifty percent chance you'll see a couple going at it in public every day."

Lance laughed, but quickly seemed confused. "Wait, ..l-like dogs..? And kinda yikes, it does sound more complicated, ..with Altean's there's just really a power struggle to figure out who's what." He says shrugging. "So like..have you ever seen a couple doing it in public? Are they like..trying to be discreet about it?" He asks, raising an eyebrow as he spotted a tunic that nearly matched his bedroom's color scheme, behind Keith.

“Nope!” Keith snorted. “And yes, I’ve seen it many times. It’s not uncommon at all. And they’re not shy about it either’l

"..Wow, I ..I didn't think they're really be like not shy about it, but I guess when you're in the mood it's..not like you need to hide." he says, moving over to Keith giving a soft chuckle. "Do you know if you'll ever..yknow..? Get like that..? Since you're a hybrid and all..?" he asks, seeming a little curious, though slightly distracted by the Tunic behind Keith.

Keith bit his lip and nodded. “Yeah, it’s once every three months. I’m, uh... I’m actually supposed to get mine kind of soon. Shit.”

"O-Oh, uh..well we can make a room in the castle for you, and we'll organize it. It'll be fine.. We're going back soon anyways, I'm sure Coran and everyone's waiting on us at the bay. We should..buy out tunics and get outta here." He says, moving past Keith, settling a hand on his shoulder as Lance reached up and pulled down the tunic, that bore the very same rainbow colors..though in splotches. He still thought they were pretty. There was still a faint glow that was beneath them..it seemed it had faded as they neared the interior of the shop.

Keith nodded and started to pull out the Bulmeran currency he had saved earlier, counting out the coins. “Yeah, we should hurry.”

Lance smiled giving a soft nod, handing over the cost of the tunic, plus a few extra coins. After all, ..Coran was never really purchasing from the planets, that was always left for Lance to do. "Definitely, I bet they're wondering where we got off to." he says, giving a chuckle as he folded the tunic a little to make it easier to carry. The Bulmeran seemed grateful and thanked both of them for their service to the planet, and for their purchases.

Keith smiled and chatted with the shop owner until Lance pulled him along, wrapping an arm around Lance as they walked to the castle. “That was fun.”

Lance chuckled as he had to pull Keith away. "Fun, but we gotta remember we can't let them leave us here." He says giving a soft laugh, hugging him a bit as they headed to the the castle, it wasn't long until they'd reunited with the other Alteans. The ground behind them was once again relit with the soft glow of quintessence floating from the planet being's surface. Lance still hadn't noticed..but the other alteans and Coran of course did..

Keith nudged Lance after a while and nodded down at the glowing trial. “Hey. What’s that about, do you think?”

Lance looked down, seeming a little confused. "..n-not really, No clue." He says. "woah.." he says as he fully turned to look at the glowing trail. "..But-" He says, bringing a hand up to his cheek, wondering if his cheeks were glowing..they weren't. 

Coran moved over to the two. "It seems that..it's true, you're connected." He says, giving a warm chuckle. "Even the Bulmera can tell you two are together.." He says to Keith and Lance.

Keith grinned and looked at Lance excitedly. “That’s so cool. So what does that mean? We’re soul mates or something?”

Coran smiled, stroking his mustache briefly. "Not exactly. But it does mean your quintessence is linked...! No matter how much quintessence you give, it'll replenish much faster than well, even any of us!" He says. "King Alfor and Queen Melenor had an incredibly strong quintessence bond. So much so..that many Bulmera identified the two..as one being. A little similar to your concept of these, soul mates." He says. 

Lance flushed, smiling honestly still a little confused, and in shock. "w-woah.."

Keith crinkled his nose and laughed. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Lance.” He said breathlessly. “Please?”


	18. Cherry Blossoms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ..Long time no update.

Lance recovered a little quickly, glancing between Coran and Keith, a warm smile, giving a soft chuckle. "O-Of course..! Of course, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Keith.." He says. He honestly felt like this was all some sort of dream. The ground beneath them was still glowing..though began to brighten as the two talked.

Keith pulled him into a tight hug and started stroking his back fondly. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

Lance hugged Keith tightly, resting his head on Keith's shoulder a little, his hands settling across keith's back. Relief felt like it was flooding him, his heart felt like it was soaring. He was so happy, and so excited. "I've never been so loved in my life." He says, giving a soft chuckle.

Keith squeezed him and kissed his hair, sitting down on one of the lounge chairs with him. “God, Lance. You are so important to me.”

Lance gave a soft chuckle as they sat down on the lounge chair, most of the other alteans leaving them to assist Coran in transporting the minor crystals the Bulmeran's had given them. "You've got no idea how important you are to me, Keith..y-you're incredible..in so many damn ways, and I absolutely love you."

Keith pulled back from the hug to give him a gentle kiss, looping his arms around Lance’s shoulders.

Lance kissed back, letting a hand move down Keith's back, a soft smile laying simply on his lips. "..g-god I love you, Keith.." He says, his voice quiet.

Keith rested their foreheads together and shut his eyes. “Hmm... I wanna ask you something?”

Lance pecked Keith's lips. "..ask away, anything."

“Will you come back to Earth and marry me?” Keith asked quietly, biting his lip. “You don’t have to, obviously.”

Lance seemed a little shocked, pulling back a little. "..K-Keith, going back to Earth..?" He asks, his eyesbrows narrowing a little. "..I do want to marry you, ..b-but what about our obligations..?" He asks.

“No, just for the marriage.” Keith whispered. “I wanna do it at the church my dad and I went to. Is that okay?”

Lance relaxed a little, but hesitated slightly. "...Y-Yeah, yeah. It's okay. Just...are you sure it's safe to go back there,..?" He asks.

Keith sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t want to go if it isn’t safe, I just... it’s really important.”

Lance pressed a soft kiss to Keith's nose. "..We..We can contact there first, ...see if it's safe for you, ..for us. I don't want to put you at risk of anything. I love you too much." he says, offering a small smile. "..We can have it there, I just want to make sure.."

Keith nodded and glanced away with a frown. “Do you... do you think he would be proud of me?”

"Of course your father would be proud. Keith..you rose above everything you've faced. You've fought for what was right, no matter how hard it was.. You became a strong, incredible, absolutely inspiring man, who's won the heart of not just me, but billions across this universe. You literally helped save the universe. Of course he would be proud of you." He says, a warm, smile laid across his face, his eyes glimmered slightly as he had spoken. "You're you..what more could he have wanted..? You're the best."

Keith sniffed and nodded, setting his face in Lance’s shoulder again. “I miss him so much. He shouldn’t have died.”

Lance hugged Keith to him, careful as he rubbed Keith's back. "..I know, ..I never got to meet him, ..but I've..heard a lot from your mom. It..It's really sad, ..but in some ways, I know how you feel." He says, softly, pressing a soft kiss to Keith's hair. "..It's alright to miss him..but think, he's still always around us.. In our quintessence.." He says, giving a soft slightly forced and saddened huff of a laugh.

Keith looked over at the fading glow on the ground beneath them. “Like... that stuff? I never really understood quintessence.”

Lance nodded a little. "..It's..our life force. ..the universe's life force." he says softly. "..Quintessence is what brought our Lions into existence, ..it's what made Voltron..alive. It's how Shiro operates Atlas.." he says softly. "...Do you remember when we entered the trans reality gate..chasing Lotor..? That stuff in the air, the blue and white ...stuff? well it's all the same. ..Quintessence...is life, It's..everything." He says "Quintessence gives the Bulmera life, us life, Quintessence has both the power to heal, ..the power to extend. ...and the power to make people lose their minds if they use it in the wrong way. ..Alteans, ..like me, ..we use our power to heal, ..to protect. To support those that cannot support themselves.." He says, giving a soft chuckle. "....Like how we gave up our life force, to help the Bulmera recover a little."

Keith nodded and gave him a confused frown. “So... is there somehow a way I can talk to him or something?”

"..No, ..not really, but..he's all around you. He's apart of you. When he passed, his quintessence didn't just vanish.. It became apart of the universe around us." He says, smiling warmly. "He became apart of all of us...All of us share quintessence with the universe, and ..we can share it back. ..When you gave your quintessence, you shared a part of your life. He's here, ..just not in physical form. Just like Allura's here. Just because we can't see them or talk to them, doesn't mean they're not there to support us."

Keith started tearing up, wiping his eyes quickly with the palm of his hand. “Sorry. I haven’t had the chance to think about him in a while.

Lance pressed a soft kiss to Keith's cheek. "..I know, It's..painful to think about a love one's death. ..Between Allura, ..my grandma and grandpa. ..It's a lot, yknow. ..But ..sometimes it helps to think about how they're..still here, in all of our quintessence." he says, softly, bringing up a hand to wipe keith's eyes gently. "There's no need to apologize."

Keith nodded as he choked back a quiet cry, burying his face in Lance’s shoulder. “I didn’t get to say goodbye to him.”

Lance held Keith, rubbing his back gently, pressing a soft kiss to Keith's shoulder. "...I'm so sorry, ..I'm sure if he was here, he'd be so damn proud of you, for becoming the best person you could be." he says softly.

“I love him so much.” Keith mumbled, wiping his eyes. “And I- I love you too. Do you ever want... like, our own kids?”

Lance smiled warmly, hugging him. " I love you more, ...I mean, if you're willing, It..might cause you more problems, love.. ...Maybe we could adopt?."

“Yeah. I think I could, uhm... I think I could be able to get pregnant. I’m on testosterone but I could stop.” Keith admitted shyly.

"..But it might cause you dysphoria, Keith..? ...It might hurt more than help..It might result in a major set back for your mental health.." he says softly, frowning. He was worried about Keith. "..It...It really is completely up to you, love..but we need to make sure you can handle it.."

“I know.” Keith mumbled, wiping his face. “We obviously wouldn’t do it anytime soon. We can wait until I’m... we’re better, and then we’ll see.”

Lance pressed a kiss to Keith's cheek. "...I really just..I don't want you to hurt, love.." He says softly. "..I adore you, I do wanna get married, we..we can call the church when we land back on Altea, and we can..figure out if it's safe to get married on Earth in your dad's church, okay..?" He says softly. "..we can decide if we want kids, and how we can have kids."

Keith nodded and kissed him back in return. “And we don’t have to decide anything now. We can take our time.”

Lance smiled. "...We have all the time in the universe, to figure out things.." He says, hugging keith. "...I just can't wait to marry you, ..no matter where we end up getting married.. I just wanna be yours."

“I’m already yours.” Keith chuckled, running a hand through Lance’s hair. “I wouldn’t rather be anyone else’s.”

Lance pressed a kiss to Keith's nose, giving a soft laugh. "I know, ...and I never want to let you go." he says warmly, giving keith a soft squeeze. "You're absolutely perfect, and I love you..!"

Keith snickered. “Well, I’m not perfect. But maybe I’m perfect for you.”

Lance kissed keiths nose. "You're absolutely perfect for me, and you're pretty damn near perfect, Keith. You're amazing, and you gotta accept that." He says giving a happy smile.

“Okay, calm down.” Keith laughed, pushing Lance’s face away with a grin. “Don’t we have stuff to do?”

Lance flinched lightly, laughing as he was pushed away. "You're perfect. And yeah, ...We should be taking off any minute. We should get to our stations quick." He says moving to get up.

Keith stood up and gathered the things they bought from the market, walking towards the elevator. “I’ll drop these off at our room.”

Lance shrugged. Following Keith. "sure, Meet in the landing bay? Don't wanna be stuck in zero gravity for a little while. Super nauseating when we go through the portal, y'know." He smiled.

Keith nodded and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Sure thing, captain. I’ll be there soon.”

Lance smiled as he watched Keith get into the elevator. "I'll be waiting, I'll save you a seat." He says giving a wink and a soft chuckle. He was honestly..beyond grateful that the landing bay wasn't that far away, and that it was rather easy to get to, with labels for the newer altean staff, and in two other languages including English.

Keith dropped their things off at their room and changed into the tunic, taking a ribbon from Lance's desk and tying it around his hair.

Lance headed past a small group of alteans readying to get to their stations for the jump, and the decently short ride as their castle sat in orbit, a ways away from the bulmera. Coran was already at the head, plotting out the course. Lance saved Keith a seat at the landing bay, settling into the seat and tugging on his belt.

Keith watched the other species on board gather at their seats, walking up to Lance and sliding next to him. “Hey, love.”

Lance smiled, watching Keith come in. He pecked his cheek after he sat down. "..Well don't you look all pretty for a warp." he says giving a soft chuckle.

Keith grinned and wrapped an arm around Lance’s waist. “What do we have to do after this?”

Lance shrugged. "Well, ..buckle in first of all. We'll be heading back to Altea in like a second or two here. Coran's almost done.." he says, gesturing up to a screen showing the portal beginning to open. "uh, but we can definitely just relax back on altea for a little while.. See Shiro, Hunk and Pidge back off..yknow.."

Keith buckled into his seat and rested his cheek on Lance’s shoulder with a smile. “Can this be a little date?”

Lance smiled. "Of course, Keith. Heck, I've been considering half of us exploring the Bulmera..a date." He says giving a chuckle.

Keith agreed with a small nod. “Yeah, it was romantic.” He chuckled. “Everything with you is romantic.”

Lance smirked. "Of course it's romantic with me, Everything's perfect when we're together." He says smiling. The castle entered the warp, emerging back at Altea, prepping and landing rather quickly.

Keith shut his eyes as they warped, squeezing Lance’s arm and staring out of the wide front window.

Lance watched as they went through the warp, arriving safely back in the orbit of Altea. The landing procedure went nearly textbook, and lance sighed as they arrived, their belts auto retracting. "Finally.." He says, moving to stand up with Keith, giving a soft smile.

Keith smiled and watched as everyone stood again, reaching out to grab Lance’s hand. “I feel kinda warm.”

Lance squeezed keith's hand. "..We should go to my room..Didn't you say you were almost coming up on your time to need..things..?" he says, being cryptic on purpose. He didn't want any of the other alteans to know what was going on or what could possibly be happening to Keith.

Keith blinked owlishly and nodded. “Yeah, I did, but it shouldn’t be for another week or so. Maybe I can call Kolivan, he was keeping track for me.”

"..We should still be careful, I mean, you never know when it can hit, right..? " he says, shrugging, frowning. "..I just don't want to get trapped in an area were we can't get away to somewhere safe."

“Safe?” Keith looked around nervously. “What, can they smell me? Do other species get heats too?”

"..w-well not exactly, ..But some Alteans can tell when someone has ..a different odor. Example, well..you smell like cherry blossoms and sweat." he says, averting his eyes flush growing on his cheeks. "...You might be more appealing to others when you go into heat..or rut." he says, hesitantly. "I don't like the idea of other Alteans going after you...regardless of what they want from you.."

Keith flushed and nodded, looking away from the crowd. “Yeah, then let’s go back to your room just in case.”

Lance nodded. "..We can stop by the kitchen and grab some food, and stuff...so we've got anything we could need. Do..you know if you're going to go into heat..or a rut is..it like interchangeable..or..?" he asks, frowning softly as they began to walk away from the bay, and towards the elevator

Keith flushed lightly. “Heats are for people that can... uhm, get pregnant or whatever. Rugs are for people that get people pregnant.”

Lance's cheeks flushed. "..Oh, ..well, ..Uh, ..we should probably get some protection, ..there's a kinda..Altean version of a condom in the med bay, we can stop there too." He says, as they headed to the kitchen to grab food and supplies.

Keith nodded and followed behind him closely. “So other people might be able to smell me?”

"..Well, yeah. They might be able to send that you're..not your usual scent.. and while It's..always been there to me, it..has less effect on me because I've..kinda freshly Altean I guess..?" He says shrugging, grabbing a small basket, filling it with food and packs of goo. "...Its not like your scent is bad or anything.., I like it. ..In a way, becoming Altean raised my senses a bit." He says shrugging.

Keith smiled shyly and nodded, helping him fill the basket. “Yeah, I can see that. What about the others?”

Lance shrugged. "..I can go tell them that we've got business to attend to, it'll be fine. I'll just ask Coran. We won't have to.make a big deal of it." He says finishing putting water and stuff in the basket.

“Okay.” Keith nodded. “But what if it’s not here yet? I don’t wanna miss anything...”

"..How about we get the room set up, so when it does hit, we can quickly excuse ourselves to it..?" He suggests giving a small smile. "That way we don't have to immediately say goodbye."

Keith nodded and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “Sure. I’ll go to the room and make myself a nest.”

Lance smiled. "..I can help you, if you'll let me." he says, offering out a hand. "..It won't take as long. I'll stop by your room, and grab some extra blankets..and we can meet in mine..? uh..that is, if you want to have it in mine.."

Keith nodded and bit his lip. "It's better if it smells like you, so that would make more sense."

Lance smiled, offering his hand, holding the basket with one arm. ".. It'll be fine. We can make my room however you need." He says.

Keith grinned and took his hand with a nod. “I prefer that we get it ready, but I stay doing normal stuff. I can just go when it comes.”

Lance smiled, giving a soft squeeze to Keiths hand. "..it'll be fine, I know it.. Let's just get it all prepped for you." he says, leading Keith back to Lance's room.

Keith followed closely behind him, watching as all the maids and guards greet Lance courteously.

Lance smiled at each maid and guard, thanking them briefly for excusing the two. He was kind, making sure each knew he appreciated them.. even if he was in a hurry and feeling a little overwhelmed. Lance entered the room, making sure Keith was still with him. "..oh man, moving around the place gets hard after a while.." he says, setting the basket down on the dresser.

Keith agreed with a small hum, grabbing some pillows from the bed and arranging them in a circle on the carpet.

Lance nodded softly, smiling a bit. He watched Keith. "I'll go get you some more blankets. There should be a couple comforters in the second drawer of the dresser." he says, opening the drawer a little. "I'll be right back." He says, leaving to go get the blankets from the guest room that Keith was previously supposed to stay at.

Keith grabbed some clothes from Lance’s closet and dropped them into the nest, sniffing them with a content sigh.

Lance returned with a big armful of blankets, all of them thankfully clean. He seemed a little frazzled and his hair was messed up.

Keith looked up and tilted his head. “Uhm... what happened to you?”

"..I may or may not have fallen down in the hallway and kinda..f-faceplanted into the floor.." He says, his cheeks flushed, his head was pounding. "..b-but I got the blankets..!" he says, setting them down on the floor for Keith to pick.

“Oh...!” Keith grinned and held a hand over his mouth to keep himself for laughing. “I’m sorry, that’s horrible. Come here.” He opened his arms.

Lance moved over to Keith, hugging the man he adored. "..My head's kinda sore.." he says, giving a soft chuckle. "The maid kinda saw too, I..think I might have given them more of a scare than hurt myself." He says, smirking.

Keith stroked his head and pulled him in for a soft kiss. “Well that’s good. Don’t fall any more! We should get going after we’re done here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is with great sorrow, that I announce, the co artist has succumbed to Covid 19. There are maybe 10 more chapters, ...and then nothing. I..I am so sorry, everyone. I am still upset, and I'll just have to continue writing alone.


	19. Keith's Heat.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Down and Dirty begins. Uh. The original Co Author has passed on. RIP. I miss them..They were amazing. Running out of chapters. ...Trope that Lance has minor issues with sexual things due to traumaa...And a reminder, that Keith is trans.

Lance moved over to Keith, hugging the man he adored. "..My head's kinda sore.." he says, giving a soft chuckle. "The maid kinda saw too, I..think I might have given them more of a scare than hurt myself." He says, smirking.

Keith stroked his head and pulled him in for a soft kiss. “Well, that’s good. Don’t fall anymore! We should get going after we’re done here.”

Lance chuckled, kissing back, smiling. "Yeah, I'm sure everyone's about done with their visiting. Especially since they've all got things to go back to. I bet Shiro is having the time of his life in the library." He says smirking softly.

Keith nodded and stood up. “Alright, let's go meet him in there.” 

Keith stared hazily across the table he was sharing with Lance and Shiro at nothing, pursing his lips and swallowing. “Hey...” he whispered. “Lance?”(edited)

Lance seemed concerned with Shiro's statement but turned to Keith rather quickly. "..Yeah?" He asks, a small but soft frown on his face.

Keith blinked slowly, gasping as a shiver ran through his body. “I feel weird.”

Lance's eyes widened a little. "..Uh, ..we should head back to the room. I ...Shiro, I think we need to go." He says glancing between Shiro and Keith seeming slightly worried.

Shiro frowned and stood up slowly. “Are you alright, Keith?”  
“Fuck,” Keith slid out of his chair and onto his knees. “Lance.”

"..Shiro, we need to go," he says rather quickly, moving around the table, picking up Keith in his arms. "..It's gonna be okay, just gotta..let him do his thing, okay." He says, trying to leave the room as quickly as possible.

Keith gripped onto Lance and buried his face in his next, breathing in deeply.   
“Is he alright?” Shiro asked worriedly.

Lance sniffed the air briefly, his eyes widening. "..Shiro, step back..B-back off please. He's..in heat, Everything's going to be fine, ..We just need to get back to my room safely." He says, holding Keith to his chest, protectively.

Keith groaned into his neck, writhing in his arms. Shiro took a step back with wide eyes. "Oh- I- sorry. I've heard of those."

Lance let out a soft sigh. "... We discussed it earlier and how we were gonna handle it." He says. "..Hope you have a good flight back." He says, rushing from the room, and down the hall hoping to get to his room quickly.

A couple of the guests stared at him as he ran past, sniffing the air.   
Keith kissed down Lance’s throat slowly. “Lance...”

Lance tucked his head down into Keith's hair as he speed-walked. "hush, baby...I'm gonna take care of you. .. We're almost there. I promise."

“M’kay,” Keith gasped, grinding his teeth. “I need you...”

Lance got to his room, setting Keith down into his nest. "Okay, okay... We've ...got everything but the condoms..! Crap!" He says. "..Keith I ..Do you think you can.. use one of mine until I get back..?" He asks, urgently.

Keith nodded and crawled into Lance’s jacket and started pulling his pants off hastily.

Lance went under the bed, pulling out a small red box from a hidden compartment, he unlocked it rather easily and moved it over to Keith. "Use whatever you want, Theyre already clean. I'll be right back!" He says urgently as he tried to leave the room to rush to the medical bay. ...he has his own bulge beginning to grow..the scent was proving to be too much for Lance.

Keith reached down in between his legs and started touching himself, shoving his face into his jacket and moaning.

Lance returned within four minutes, panting and holding a bag of condoms and some additional lubricant. He rushed in, setting it down. "Okay, okay. Now we've got everything we need." He says taking a slightly awkward moment to relax, a soft smirk rising to his lips as he saw Keith

Keith moaned and started grinding into his hand, not noticing that Lance had returned.

Lance moved over to Keith, going down on his knees next to Keith's nest. "I'm allowed in right? You want me, baby.." he says, reaching out to touch Keith's leg, a soft smirk on his lips.

Keith flinched, looking up at him with wide eyes. “I need you to fuck me.” He whispered.

Lance moved in, pulling down his pants, working them off his legs. "..I know, I know." He says, grabbing a condom, and the lube. "..Did you have fun while I was gone?" He says giving a smirk. He put on the condom, lubing himself briefly. ..the scent was overwhelming..he was already almost rock hard.. sweetness, and the bittersweet scent of salty sweat.. god the temptation...

Keith shook his head and glanced back at him quickly. “No, I need your cock inside me.” He choked, lifting his hips into the air and swaying them hopefully. “Please?”

Lance smirked, moving up, settling his hands on Keith's hips. "..Okay, okay.. just take it easy, ..You stretched yourself enough?" He says, lowering his hand to Keith's vagina, spreading the lips carefully, pushing in a finger..almost immediately able to insert a second. He nodded, quick to line himself up pressing into Keith, slowly but not stopping until he was seated inside Keith. "..Fuck,..you're still a bit tight.."

Keith keened loudly and started thrusting back against him immediately. “F-fuck, yeah, just like that.”

Lance groaned as he thrust into Keith, his mind was swimming with Keith's scent. He was picking up the pace as he continued to thrust in and out of Keith, a moan leaving his lips.

Keith turned into putty in the nest, gripping onto the nearest pillow and taking in the scent of Lance’s jacket. “Yess, Lance...”

Lance smirked, fucking into Keith harder, rocking himself against Keith, bending over Keith's back a bit, sniffing in the scent of Keith. He was losing himself to both the pleasure and the sweet scent of cherry blossoms.

Keith flipped them over suddenly and started riding Lance, the sleeves of the jacket falling off his shoulders.

Lance groaned as he was flipped, wincing as his shoulders hit the floor, bucking up briefly into Keith. "H-Holy shit, you're so tight.." he says, incredibly hard within Keith.

“Mmh- fuck-“ Keith gasped, mouth hanging open. “You’re so big!”

Lance let out a moan, bucking up harshly into Keith with quite a bit of force, his hands going down to hold keith's hips. "F-fuck you're so good for me.. S-so good, Keith. "

Keith doubled over and whimpered, squeezing around Lance as he squirted a little. “Yes, yes! Just like that, c’mon!”

Lance groaned, bucking up into Keith harder, keeping up the pace as best he can, forcing Keith's hips down entirely on him each time. "F-fuck you're so perfect..!"

Keith grabbed Lance’s arms and pinned them down beside his head, riding him again. “Lemme d-do the work, baby.”

Lance flinched as he was pinned down, wincing slightly at the strain on his chest before relaxing a little, bucking up his hips a little roughly, chasing his pleasure, and trying to pleasure Keith. He was losing himself to Keith's scent..

“Want you to fill me up,” Keith growled, eyes flashing yellow as he bounced on Lance’s lap. “Cum in me.”

Lance let out a moan, bucking up into Keith, desperate for the pleasure as he roughly came within Keith, his hips shaking beneath Keith's. "F-fuck, I'm cumming..!" The scent of sweat mixed with the sweetness proving to be too much for Lance to take.

Keith whined in frustration when the condom caught all of his cum, grinding his hips down. “Wanna feel you...!”

Lance groaned. "K-Keith, N-No.." he says, his eyes rolling back at the over sensitivity. "F-fuck!" He says, wincing beneath Keith. "I-I can, we- ..There's other options!"

Keith bit his lip and lifted himself off of his lap. “‘M sorry, it’s my hormones...”

Lance tugged his hand free, wiping his eyes briefly, tears having risen to the corners. "I-I know, I know. It's okay..t-there's other ways we can make you feel full, baby.. B-But we can't risk it..not while you're still on T."

Keith nodded and looked over at him guiltily. “Did- are you crying? I’m so sorry...”

Lance frowned, moving to sit up. "N-No, no. Keith, it's fine, It was just a little overwhelming," he admits, his shoulders raising. "..You didn't do anything wrong, I promise. Your scent, ..it's just a lot of pleasure in such a short amount of time.." he says giving a slightly forced chuckle, his cheeks flushed. ..He was still hard, the scent of Keith still flooding the air.

Keith glanced down at him and bit his lip. “Can... can I at least get you to cum down my throat?”

Lance pulled back a little, adjusting beneath Keith, moving to remove his condom, tying it off. "...If you're willing," he says offering a small smile, his cheeks flushing again.

Keith dove on him to take his cock in his mouth and moan around it, getting to work hastily.

Lance groaned as Keith began, his shoulders tensing at the speed, bringing up a hand to hold his own head. His head felt like it was swimming from the scent that lingered in the air around the two.

Keith used his mouth and his hands, reaching down to play with himself too.(edited)

Lance moaned, his back stiffening as Keith used his mouth. "Your throat, i-its so good, baby.." he says, overwhelmed by the intense scent that surrounded themselves. Keith's sweet scent, intoxicating..

Keith gagged on his length and blinked, pulling off of him with a gasp. “Love sucking your dick, fuck.”

Lance moaned as Keith pulled off him. "You're really fucking impressive a-at it too, baby. Damn.." He says, his cheeks flushed. He was rather close.

Keith started jerking him off quickly, opening his mouth and sticking out his tongue. “C’mon, I know you’re close.”

Lance's hips shook slightly, groaning. "Fuck..! g-gonna come.." he says, cumming rather quickly, closing his eyes a little tighter.

Keith caught his cum in his mouth and swallowed it down hungrily, groaning in frustration. “Not full! How do- what were your ideas?”

"..W-well..not cum, but ..maybe saline..?" He says, hesitantly. He flushed. "We..We don't want you getting pregnant, and while the T is workin', it's not birth control."

Keith groaned and rolled over onto his side. “Just wanna be filled up...”

Lance smirked a little. "..I could fill you, baby bit it won't be cum.. I can't inside you" he says, getting up and pressing a kiss to Keith's cheek.

Keith ran a hand through Lance’s hair and pulled him in for a real kiss. “Wish you could fuck me in front of everyone so they knew I was yours.”

Lance let out a short noise, kissing back rather quickly, his cheeks still flushed. "As much of an exhibitionist you are, baby..I can't risk the other alteans smelling you.. it's bad enough everyone in the hallway smelled you." He says frowning.

“Do I really smell that good?” Keith mumbled into his mouth, grinning. “What if I went out there right now.?”

"You smell fucking amazing..but..baby I think they'd want to tackle you." He comments, frowning softly, his cheeks flushed. "..You're mine, Nobody else's!" he says, raising his voice only a little. "You're mine already,...And if I have to cover your neck in hickeys to prove it, then I will." he says, smirking,

Keith licked his lips, sitting back and sitting up on his knees. “That gets me wet. Would you protect me from everyone else?”

Lance leaned in to Keith. "..Fuck if I'd let anyone touch you like this.." he says, frowning seriously. He felt nearly drunk on the scent that Keith was emitting..this was stranger than any scent he had experienced before. "..Keith, I n-need to keep you safe." He says, moving to get up on his own in the nest on his knees as well, ..he was hard again.

Keith smiled and looked down at him briefly. “What if I just went on a little walk, huh? Unless... you stop me.”

Lance leaned in to take a hold of Keith's hand. "..You're not going anywhere. You'd be in danger." he says, the frown serious on his lips, his pupils twitching slightly in place, keeping his eyes focused on Keith. "..Keith, you can't leave here. You're too vulnerable right now." He says, his voice a bit commanding..despite the underlying tone of fear that had entered his voice.

Keith pulled away from him playfully and grinned, wiggling his hips. “Yeah? Why don’t you show me what you’re made of?”

Lance frowned, moving forward to grab Keith again, pushing him back into the nest. "..I am not risking someone else touching you!" He says, urgency in his voice, "We're one, ..that means you don't get to risk your safety without me..!"

“Then why don’t you fuck me so I don’t leave.” Keith chuckled, grinding onto his thigh and kissing his neck.

Lance let out a noise if frustration, grabbing Keith's legs, moving back to set them on his hips. "You're gonna stay here, whether I fuck you or not." He says, tugging Keith up, settling him into his lap, moving a hand down to line himself up with Keith. "..You're mine, and you're going nowhere." He says urgently.

Lance flinched as Keith kissed his forehead, blinking a few times in rapid succession. He let out a sound of annoyance, grabbing Keith's hips stilling him as he thrusted up and into Keith. "You're mine, Keith. Nobody elses..!"

Keith gasped, letting his eyes roll back as Lance went. “Oh- oh, fuck, please! Just- just like that! Please!”

Lance groaned as he fucked up into Keith, bucking his hips at an increasing pace, pushing keith back, pinning him to the next as he bucked into Keith rrather roughly.

Keith keened and arched off the bed, curling his toes and wrapping his legs around Lance’s waist. “Fuck! Fuck, please, yes!”

Lance let out a moan as he kept fucking harshly into Keith, grinding into Keith briefly as he kept Keith pinned down, leaning down to bite on Keith's neck, setting about making hickeys across his neck.

Keith wheezed, body shaking violently as he came for the second time that night. “Uhn- ughhhh, Lance!”

Lance blinked a few times, starting to slow down in his pace, continuing to bite on Keith's neck. He was still slightly lost to the intense scent around them.

Keith raked his nails down Lance’s back and cried out brokenly, grinding up against him. “Oh, baby, mark me all up.”

Lance's body winced on top of Keith, continuing to thrust within Keith, his pace still slowing, as he bit up Keith's neck, sliding along, occasionally licking at Keith's neck, a soft noise of approval leaving him, slowly starting to return to himself..having still not cum.

Keith slowly started to become more gentle as he ground against him. “Shit, this might be the best talking, but I wanna have your baby...!”

Lance continued to thrust into Keith, finally slowing to nearly a stop. "f-fuck..I.." he says, his voice quiet as he pulled back a little, releasing his grip on Keith, bringing a hand up to cover his own face. He seemed to finally start to come to his senses, his vision blurred briefly, his eyes finally returning to normal.

“Wanna- please, uhn, I really wanna, it would make me so happy.” Keith was almost crying now, cupping his cheeks. “Wanna be your family. Your husband.”

Lance flinched, giving a short noise of confusion, tears rising. "..I-I....I wanna marry you too, Keith," he says, the small frown failing to leave his face. He was still a little out of it, slowly starting to pull out of Keith. "..I can't- n-not inside.."

Keith buried his face in Lance’s shoulder and let out a short sob, nodding. “I know, I know you can’t, just- the hormones...!”

Lance pulled out, he was starting to precum a little. "..I-I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, ..I-I'm sorry.." he says quietly, hugging Keith to him. "..I-I..we can fill you up with other means.. i-in other places even..w-whatever will help," he says, finally starting to get back to himself.

Keith nodded and swallowed thickly. “S’okay, uhm, can you do it in my ass?” He groped himself open and slid a finger in.

Lance frowned, pulling back a little giving Keith room. He moved to grab the bottle of lube, helping keith by adding a little lubricant. "..I-If you're okay with it in your ass, ..and we take a break and clean you out after," he says giving a small nod, gripping his own base, trying to stop himself. He was still struggling to keep his own composure, having..completely lost it,

Keith opened himself as quickly as he could on his fingers, nodding. “Okay, put it in, you can come.” He said, voice cracking.

Lance moved forward, lining himself up rather quickly for Keith, pressing inside slowly, making sure to keep an checking for Keith's comfort..though not much could be comfortable. Lance felt like he was already at his limits..

Keith rocked back against him with a groan, “fuck, please...” he sighed. “I’m so tired.”

Lance pushed the rest of the way in, groaning softly as he seated himself inside, holding back on cumming as best he could

“Cum in me,” Keith choked. “Come on, I know you can do it.”

Lance groaned as he rocked briefly, finally cumming harshly inside of keith, his cheeks red, his body a little overwhelmed, his mind..still quite fried from the scent intrusion.

Keith groaned loudly, slamming his hips back against him as he came. “Yes! Thats it!”

Lance flinched slightly, bucking in slowly, grinding against Keith's ass as he came deep within him. "..f-fuck that feels so good.." he says, overwhelmed, his cheeks flushed deeply.

Keith sat up and bit his lip, eyebrows furrowed deeply. “N-never done anal before.”

Lance averted his eyes, the small frown still hadn't left, slowly starting to pull out. "..Y-You're tight, you need to relax a-a little, baby..We can take it slower, I-I'm sorry."

“Don’t be sorry.” Keith winced as he pulled out, still panting. “It was my idea. Jesus, I’m sorry. I never warned you about this.”

Lance cautiously shifting back on his knees, hesitant about even daring to leave the nest. He swallowed softly. "..I didn't think, I...lost myself, I should have asked more." he says, slightly nervous.. He..didn't really realize what he had done while in the state of overwhelmed by the scent.

“No, you’re fine. You didn’t do anything wrong. Can I go to sleep for a little while?”

Lance frowned, checking Keith over, seeming slightly worried. "...Y-Yeah, ..I'll go get a warm tub for us when you wake up.."

“No, stay with me.” Keith mumbled, snuggling into him. “We can do that later.”(edited)

Lance hugged Keith to him. "..Are you sure..? I...I wanted to get you clean, i-it could leak out and make a mess.." He comments, frowning. "...A-as long as you're okay with it.." he says softly.

Keith nodded and grabbed a small blanket, pushing it near his ass. “We can clean the blanket.”

Lance nodded softly, checking on Keith. "..okay, ..d-does it hurt, at all..?" He asks, softly. "..I'm sure I've got some pain pills in the bathroom cabinet if we need them later." he says softly, hugging Keith gently.

Keith shook his head and started stroking Lance’s arm softly. “No, it’s okay... I love you.”

Lance went quiet, hugging Keith to him, bringing up a hand to cover his nose. "I love you too." He says softly, trying to relax...despite the scent around them.

Keith noticed the small movement and raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you still horny?”

Lance flushed. "..y-your scent, turns me on..i-its..stronger now that you're in heat..." He says frowning softly, averting his eyes.

“Hmm... you can fuck me while I nap if you want.” Keith hummed.

Lance frowned. "N-no, no..I don't want to do it while you sleep..It'd keep you awake.." he says, hugging Keith to him "..Let's just sleep.."

Keith shook his head. “I can fall asleep, love, don’t worry about me. Go ahead.”

Lance sighed. "baby, are you sure..?" he asks, seeming worried and a bit concerned.

“Mhm.” Keith nodded and lifted up hid leg to rest over Lance’s hip. “It’s fine.”

Lance carefully pulled Keith to him. "..I..okay, baby.." he says softly leaning down to press a kiss to Keith's shoulder. "..go to sleep, I..will try to be as gentle as possible."

Keith fell asleep quickly, snoring into his arm quietly.

Lance leaned in, pushing himself a little closer beneath Keith, lining himself up with Keiths vagina. He chose to try and stay quiet, his cheeks flushed. He slowly entered, keeping his pace slow, bringing a hand uo to stifle his own noises.

Keith whimpered in his sleep and rocked back against him gently, biting his lip.

Lance bucked gently, keeping the pace slowed as he fucked into Keith, stifling himself, worried as Keith whimpered..but continue ti move.

Keith kept panting as he slept, still fast asleep, and snoring.

Lance kept thrusting within Keith, taking his time, keeping his pace slow. He was worried about waking Keith up, but was beginning to chase his own pleasure.. knowing fully well he couldn't cum inside of Keith.

Keith let out sleepy moans when Lance sped up, clutching onto his pillow.

Lance groaned softly, flushing as he thrusted into Keith, reaching his pleasure as he pulled out, cumming nearly as fast on Keith's ass as he reached pleasure.

Keith settled with a sigh, turning onto his stomach and yawning.

Lance bit his lip, wiping himself up as best he can. He knew he'd have to change the bedding soon if he kept cumming on Keith..

Keith woke up with a long groan, wiggling in bed and rolling over to face him.

Lance had relaxed with Keith, his face flushed, exhausted, and satisfied.

Keith chuckled and buried his face into Lance’s neck. “How many times did you go, big guy? You look exhausted.”

"J-Just once..but it was enough," he says, bringing up a hand to wipe his own eyes. "..god damn you're so good for me." he says smiling softly, his cheeks flushed.

“Good, ‘cause my heat isn’t over.” Keith mumbled, pulling the sheets off to stretch.

Lance let out a soft sigh, smiling a bit. "I bet it wasn't.." he says giving a short chuckle. "..We should take a drink first though, right...?" he says stopping to get up, grabbing two water bottles from the mini-fridge within his room's wall, ...it was something he himself had modified, ..though with the idea of hiding in here to work on something in mind.

Keith drank the water quickly, gulping it down and cracking his neck. “But the worst of it is gone.”

Lance shrugged. "...I'm still up to fuck you and relieve that itch, baby." he says, frowning softly.

Keith smiled tiredly at him. “How about I just do some chores around the castle, really easy stuff? And I can call you if it gets too bad.”

Lance frowned. "..I'm not letting anyone smell you. ..You're mine, Keith. I can't risk any other Altean taking you down because of your scent.." He says, moving to Keith frowning.

“It’s not like... it’s not like anyone would attack me, right?” Keith asked wearily. “I’ll be around women mostly.”

"..Baby, it doesn't matter to Alteans what genders they are, ..If they think you smell good they'll go after you. I don't want them cornering you.." he says frowning. "I don't want to risk your health, no matter what."

Keith went slightly pale. “Why...!? Can’t they control themselves enough to not assault me?”

Lance frowned. "They..well most can. I just don't want to risk something happening to you. If you were to suddenly need me, and I wasn't immediately there, they'd try to trick you into letting them do something.." he says, hugging Keith.

“Oh.” Keith hugged him back gently. “Then how about you work near me? Or maybe Coran or Romelle can work with me for protection.”

Lance seemed hesitant. "..I... Are you sure you're going to be okay leaving here though..? I'm sure they wouldn't mind watching you, but I don't want to put you at risk.."

Keith took Lance’s hand and kissed it daintily. “Don’t worry so much, my love. I will be okay.”

Lance sighed. "..Fine, ..but we'll call and ask from here." he says, moving to grab his phone, dialing to the front of the castle, asking for someone to transfer him to Coran. He didn't want to use the overhead speaker system.


	20. Shiro's Escort Duty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith insists on helping, It doesn't last. RIP CoAuthor

Keith nodded in agreement and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Now let’s get dressed.”

Lance let out a soft sigh as he got up to get dressed, putting Coran on speaker. It broadcast to the speakers built into the wall. Coran picked up "Yeah, my boy?" He says friendly into the phone. Lance flushed. "..Uh, Coran we need an...person to help Keith out today, with a ..scent issue." He says frowning softly as he glanced over at Keith.

Keith stepped up behind him and sighed. “I have my heat but I still wanna help around, we’re just worried about the scent.”  
Lance let out soft noise as he finished getting dressed. Coran spoke up. "Oh..? ...Oh! Alright, I can head up as soon as possible, or perhaps he'd like someone else? Romelle's hanging around the kitchen until Hunk needs to leave, Im pretty sure Number One is running laps around the castle, if need be." He suggests, cheerful in the phone. Lance prickled at the idea of Shiro being left with Keith, glancing between the wall and Keith, frowning.

Keith raised his eyebrow in confusion. “What’s the matter?” He whispered. “Is that okay with you?”

Lance frowned. "..I don't like the idea of you h-hanging around with Shiro, ..sure he won't be able to smell you, but you're so close..he might not want to bring you back to me.." he says keeping his voice low. ..the jealousy minorly revealing it's head.

Keith frowned worriedly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Babe, Shiro would never do that. Not the real Shiro.” He assured quietly.

Lance let out a slightly tense sigh. "..h-he better not, ..I love you, ...I just can't stop thinking about the risks." He says quietly. Coran piped up. "I can get Romelle, if the captain isn't a good option?" Hr suggests. Lance flushed deeply..Coran had heard.

Keith turned to the speaker with a frown. “That’s alright, Coran; don’t worry about it. Just send whoever is available.”

Lance relaxed a little, frowning. He was worried. Coran gave a hum of approval. "Romelle is busy making lunch with some of the other Alteans, but Ive got to keep these transmission moving. I'll ask Shiro, if he has anything to do." He says. "Someone will be up in a few minutes." He says firmly. Deciding that if Shiro didn't wish to help, or was busy, ..that he would send Romelle. They certainly had the staff to accomodate for the lunch.

Keith nodded and nudged Lance’s side. “See? Nothing to worry about, love. And you won’t be very far.”

Lance sighed. "..okay, ..I-I just feel worried about you being with Shiro, ..h-he doesn't know how the alteans are going to react, I mean..I don't really know much either." He says. "..I just wanna keep you safe, but I know locking you up won't keep you safe.."

Keith nodded and kissed his cheek again. “I know you’re worried, but I’m telling you everything will be okay, alright?”

Lance nodded a little. "..okay, ..I trust you. Just..In every room in the castle, theres a button near the door." He says, explaining as he gestured to a small round dot near the exit. "..as soon as you feel it, hit that button and say like a codeword or something ..I'll hear it and come running, okay..?" He says.

“Alright.” Keith nodded at the button. “I’ll do it, don’t worry.”

Lance moved a bit closer to Keith, kissjng him gently on the lips. "..I love you, so much.." he says softly. "..Ill be there as soon as possible when you need me." He says. ..the door dinged, ..still locked. Lance went to get it, Shiro indeed having answered the beck and call.

Keith waved him into the room and walked over to the vanity, starting to braid his hair. “You wanna explain what’s up, Lance?” Keith asked.  
Shiro slid inside and sat on the couch by the door.

Lance averted his eyes. "..Yeah, ..So .. Keith's in heat, and..Theres kind of a problem with that. ..Alteans, we've kind of got a thing about scents, everything smells ..different to us. We can tell a person's state of emotions, ..or in Keith's case, I can smell his heat.." he says a small frown on his lips. "..And the other Alteans will be able to smell him too, and I..I need you to protect him while he goes about his day. So nobody bothers him, or tried to go after him. ..too much exposure for any Altean, could..make them kinda.." he hesitated, his cheeks red, knowing what this would say abou his own ability to control.. "..Lose their minds with sex.., so you need to keep him safe when he's around them.." he says frowning softly. "..Word part, ..For pure alteans, it doesn't go by gender,...they can be attracted to any gender, and any sex.."

Shiro nodded, trying his best not to blush as Lance explained. “Okay. Kinda like a bodyguard?” He chuckled. “I can do that.”

Lance sighed. "Yeah, basically.." he says shrugging a bit. "..It won't be like all day. I told Keith how to get ahold of me..So you guys should be fine." He says frowning softly. "..Ill be in the pod bay, working on one of them."

Keith slipped his shoes on and then his jacket, standing up and hugging Lance briefly. “I’ll see you later, then?”

Lance hugged Keith tightly, pressing a kiss to Keith's cheek. "...If they start to bother you, Just show your neck..It should help to prevent them.." he says softly.

Keith nodded and started sheepishly tugging his collar down so his hickies were visible.

Lance smirked softly. "..You look good with them, ..I know Shiro will keep you safe. "...Ill see you later, baby." He says heading off to go take care of the pods.

Keith flushed and gave Lance a goodbye kiss, turning to Shiro. “Alright, Coran asked me to help some of the maids with something.”

Shiro shrugged. "Sure, let's head there then. I dont need to be back on Atlas for a little while, anyways." He says smiling warmly.

“Alright, that’s good.” Keith joined him as they walked out the door together.

Shiro smiled, seeming honestly good with whatever Keith wanted to do. "..By the way, ..now that you and Lance, are a thing... Uh..Have you guys really decided anything together..? Have you guys decided if you're going to travel the universe or live on any specific planet..?" he asks, seeming genuinely curious..

“Well,” Keith excitedly started to explain. “We’re going to finish building his healing pods before he stays with my crew and I doing service throughout the universe. And, uhm... we want kids, just not yet, you know? In a few years.”

Shiro listened, seeming curious. "That sounds cool, I'm sure the universe will be much better with the healing pods and there's tons of places that could use help recovering, but.. Kids..? Are you guys going to adopt or are you..considering, yknow.." he says, seeming a little concerned.

Keith shrugged and stopped walking once they got to where maids and servants were organizing paperwork. “I don’t know.”

Shiro nodded a little. "Okay, ..Well I'm sure that you guys will figure it out. You've got plenty of time after all." he says smiling. "All I can ask of you two is that you don't go wandering around the universe putting yourselves in danger, risking your lives. You're both too important to be doing things like that anymore." he says a small smirk on his lips.

Keith paused to talk to a servant, ushering Shiro towards a different room. “They want us to help cleanup up in here.”

Shiro followed, heading for the room, keeping an eye on the servants as they moved. He nodded. "Sure, won't take long, I'm sure." he says, seeming quite cheerful. He was still feeling a little guilty regarding earlier situations, but he knew he still loved Keith, and appreciated Lance..so of course he was incredibly accepting of their relationship, regardless of their traumas.

Soon enough Keith was voted to clean under the bed since he was the smallest, the upper half of his body shoved awkwardly under the the bed as he waved a duster around.

Shiro watched him carefully, keeping check on the Alteans, noting a few sniffing the air. He frowned, keeping his eyes on them. He tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible. He was making sure that they weren't getting too close to Keith.

Keith slid out from under the bed and sat up, taking a few deep breaths. He continued to dust the underside of the bed, unknowing of the pheromones he was pumping out.

Shiro frowned as he saw the Alteans sniffing the air, slowly realizing what the scent was. "..U-Uh, Keith...I think we need to go." he says, putting himself between the Alteans and Keith. "..Are you feeling okay?" he asks, seeming a little worried..but still standing guard around Keith.

Keith glanced up at him with glazed eyes. “I don’t wanna go ‘til it gets really bad... can I stay a little longer?”

Shiro seemed hesitant, the alteans around them covering their noses, and trying to look away. "..are you sure..?" He asks, seeming worried, keeping the distance between the Alteans and Keith. Two of the servants seemed to want to move closer to Keith, Shiro keeping them at a distance. He seemed worried.

“Can you, uh... can you call Lance for me?” Keith asked him, his voice slurring a little.

Shiro remained on guard, frowning as he tried to edge towards the exit, realizing quickly he had to find a way to protect Keith from the alteans as he did so.. two becoming overwhelmed with the scent, edging forward. "..Keith, I don't think I'm gonna be able to get to the button." He says, backing up in on Keith, to helping him to get up.

“I’m fine,” Keith stood up with him and clenched his fists. “Hey, fuck off.” He said to the two approaching him.

Shiro kept his body between the two Alteans, the others quick to rush themselves out of the situation via the door. "..Didn't Lance say how to call him..? The door right..? Let's get to the door." He says, trying to keep the distance between Keith, himself and the Alteans. He was closer at this point to the Alteans, wondering in which ways he could take them down without harming them.

Keith pushed Shiro aside and shuffled slowly towards the door, huffing. “Don’t be dramatic.” He pressed the button and talked into the speaker. “Hey babe?”

Shiro kept the distance between Keith and the Alteans, pushing one back as she tried to close in on Keith, seeming honestly..a bit serious about it. She seemed..off. Her eyes were twitching. 

Lance's voice came through the side speaker of the button. "..Keith? Hey, you okay?" He asks, already sounding worried. With his head a bit more clear, having not been exposed to Keith's scent for a little while.

“Yeah, uh, it’s getting pretty serious and two of the maids are trying to have at me. Shiro could knock them out, though.”

Lance sounded tense as he responded. "I'm on my way. Shiro don't hurt them. They're not in control..It's okay. " he says, the sounds of him gathering his things and getting up already wafting through the speaker. 

Shiro spoke as he kept Keith from the two. "Their eyes, are weird." He says firmly, hoping that Lance could hear. He could. Shiro kept the one at bay, using his arm as a barrier from the other who was still struggling to reign herself in, breathing a little deeply. Lance left the pod bay rushing for the area that the ping came from.

Keith made sure his hickies were showing, ducking past Shiro and into the hallway where he sat on the floor.

Shiro managed to push the two maids back just enough to get out of the room and get into the hallway. He seemed flustered a little, and a little confused. "..I didn't think he was telling the truth." He says. Thankfully the hallway was mostly empty. The few alteans that were there, sniffed the air, spotting the hickey's and rather quickly trying to escort themselves off.

Keith was squirming a little on the floor where he sat, face flushed red. “Is he coming soon? I’m ruining these pants.”

Shiro watched Keith frowning. "He'll be here any minute. He's probably riding the elevator down as we speak.." he says, seeming worried, moving to sit down next to Keith. "..You're gonna be fine. He'll take care of you." he says, offering a small slightly worried smile.

Keith leaned into his side and started panting softly, fanning his face. “Oh fuck. It’s worse than before.”

Shiro's cheeks flushed slightly. "You're gonna be okay, just hold out, Lance-" he cut off, hearing the elevator whir softly as it arrived on their floor. "Lance! Over here!" He says a little loud. Lance starting to rush over to Keith and Shiro, seeming dishevelled and rushed. He was in a slight panic as well. Lance quickly checked Keith over, seeming worried.

Keith reached up and grabbed Lance’s shoulders, shaking breathing against his neck. “S’ worse.” He gasped. “Need you right now.”

Lance seemed flustered as Keith pulled him in, lifting Keith up, and into his own arms. "Y-you can't hold it..?" He asks, worried as he moved back towards the door. Shiro stopped him. "..I'll empty it, give me less than three minutes." He says slightly urgent

Keith whimpered and pressed up against him. “Just need to feel you. Don’t care where.”

Lance frowned, hugging Keith to himself. Shiro nodded. Lance kissed Keiths lips gently but securely as he held the man he adored to him, still on the ground on his knees. "Shiro, we need that room, clear it." He says firmly. Shiro nodded, moving in as he a bit forcefully had to eject the two lust crazy alteans from the room.

Keith whimpered and started grinding onto Lance’s leg, eyes glazed over. “It’s so fucking hot- oh my god, I’m burning up.”

Lance frowned. "I know it's hot, you're gonna be okay.." he says softly, pushing the two of them into the room. "O-okay, thank you, Shiro. we'll be okay from here.." he says, closing and locking the door, with his thumb print. He had taken barely a whif of Keith and was already losing himself.


	21. Don't pamper me..

Lance frowned, moving to quickly try and comfort Keith. "H-Hey, hey. it's not your fault..! It's his f-for not knocking and for just barging in." he says, worried. "There's nothing to be sorry about." He says firmly.

Keith nodded and rubbed his eyes. “Sorry... what’s the plan?”

He moved forward, pulling Keith up and back into his lap..though not on his dick. "..I want you to feel nice and full when we walk up, so we don't need to worry about any more scenes like...w-what just happened."He says, averting his eyes, his cheeks still flushed. "..S-so..I want you to pick something from my box, ..at least two items. that you can wear under your clothes while we head upstairs." he says, gesturing to the box, which still lay open, the thin layer of fabric all that was preventing any of them from seeing Lance's ..' collection'.

Keith crouched near the box and grabbed a butt plug and a vibrating dildo.

Lance watched over Keith. "Good choices..they're simple, and don't worry, they're clean," he says, offering a small smile, his cheeks flushed. He closed the box after getting the lube as well from there when Keith was done selecting. Embarrassed and a bit worried for the man he adored. "..Did..you want me to cum inside you again before you plug..?" He asks, knowing full well it may feel more uncomfortable.

Keith shook his head and pushed in the two toys, turning on the vibrator and gasping. “Oh, fuck! Yes...”

Lance frowned as he watched Keith, seeming worried, moving to grab Keith's clothes. "o-Okay, let's hope it's enough to keep you for like...five minutes.."

Keith slipped into his clothes and stood up slowly, legs shaky. “Okay, let's go back to your room.”

Lance watched Keith, helping him carefully. "..Hold onto me, ..I-I don't want you falling down, it might hurt worse.." He says frowning as he helped Keith, grabbing his box and heading for the door with Keith.

Keith held onto Lance with his face buried into his shoulder, letting out breathy moans as they went out the door.

Lance let out a soft sigh as he led Keith, holding the man he loved. "..Shiro, let's go. Quick. We need to go fast.." he says worriedly.

Keith pursed his lips together and tried his best to stay upright as he hobbled down the hallways.

Lance frowned as they walked up to the elevator, Shiro acting as a guard, flustered. Lance helped Keith in supporting the man he adored.

Keith was panting and shaking by the time they had reached their hallway. “Feels- feels good.”

Lance pressed kisses to Keith's cheek. "I know, I know. I'm gonna make you feel so good once we get upstairs ... we're almost there." He says, helping Keith to stay standing.

Keith nodded and clenched his fists. “I hate how v-vulnerable this makes me feel.”

Lance smiled. "..And here I thought you were an exhibitionist.., you're not vulnerable, I'm here to protect you.." he says as they finished their short walk to Lance's room. Shiro holding the door open seeming worried. Lance knew...he wasn't sure, Keith's scent was deeply impacting him and he didn't know how much more he could take of Keith..but he loved Keith so deeply, ..he could stand the incredible scent..in this more intense and powerful state. ..If he had the stamina, He would be hard again.

Shiro flinched as Keith limped past him, grinding his teeth and hissed. "Are you guys good now?" He croaked. "I think I should go."

Lance hugged Keith a little tight as Shiro spoke. ".. We'll be fine from here, ... You'll probably see us when ...his heat is over.." he paused. "..If you're still on Altea, that is." He says, carefully checking on Keith. Honestly...he was worried about the man he adored, settling him down to sit on the soft bed.

Keith fell into the mattress and let out a heaving breath. “T-this is nice, actually... I might be able to sleep right now.”

Lance moved to Keith, worried as he pressed a kiss to Keith's cheek. "..You do need to rest a bit...I don't think I can go again soon." He says shrugging a little. "..I love you." He says softly, covering his nose with the blanket.

Keith curled up in Lance’s bed and shoved a pillow in between his legs before falling asleep.

Lance watched Keith, laying down beside him, resting.. it took a little while until he actually fell asleep.

Keith woke up and groaned shakily, reaching between his legs to yank out the toys and curl up next to Lance. “I think it’s over...” he yawned.

Lance woke up as Keith groaned. "..we should spend the day in bed, just..talking and cuddling. I bet your back hurts horribly..." He says softly, pressing a kiss to Keith's cheek.

“How’d you know?” Keith murmured, tucking his head under Lance’s chin. “You need some pampering today.”

Lance relaxed a little, frowning. "..Pamper me..?" He asks, sounding and seeming confused. "..Keith, you're the one who went through the heat.." he says softly.

Keith nodded. “I know, but aren’t you tired too? You’re the one who took care of me and everything.”

Lance averted his eyes. "..Yeah, but I had to, you're my responsibility when you're like that. ..doesn't mean you need to pamper me.." He says,

Keith leaned in to kiss his nose. “I’m still gonna pamper you anyway.” He chuckled. “You deserve it.”

Lance frowned. "..but baby, I don't need to be pampered..You pamper me just by being here.." He says, his cheeks flushing briefly, tucking his face down into the blankets, away from Keith's kisses.

Keith frowned and grunted in disapproval. “Why don’t you wanna be pampered?”

Lance sighed. "..I-I just don't want to be pampered, ..I don't deserve it.." He says, frowning.

Keith frowned and climbed closer to him, kissing his forehead and hugging him. “You feeling alright, love?”

Lance averted his eyes, tensing up a bit. "..I'm fine.." he says quietly. "I just..don't need you to focus on me...You're the one who deserves to be pampered. All I did was lose control.."

Keith shook his head with a sigh. “How about we just cuddle then, huh? Will that make you feel better?”

Lance nodded a little, the small frown not leaving his lips. ".. I'm sorry, ..I love you, ..I just don't need to be pampered when all I did during your heat was be nearly unable to control myself.." he says.

Keith kissed him tenderly and stroked his hair. “Yeah, but you did control yourself, right? And you protected me. And you made sure I was satisfied.”

Lance kissed back softly, moving in to hug Keith. "...I had to protect you,...I couldn't stand it if you got hurt, or if anyone else touched you.." he says, keeping his eyes averted. "..I..I couldn't stop myself when I was inside you.."

Keith cradled the back of his head with his hand and bumped their foreheads together. “Hey. I couldn’t stop myself either, remember? We can pretend it never happened if you want.”

Lance swallowed softly as they bumped foreheads. "..I..I don't want to pretend we didn't do it. ..I love you, I'm just upset..that I lost control so quickly, and just to your normal scent heightened.." He says looking back up at Keith. "..I'm sorry I lost control, ..I'm sorry I didn't control myself enough..I could have hurt you. ..well more than I kinda already did.." He says frowning. "..We should get some pain medication for your back.."

“Sure, but have a servant bring it in. I don’t wanna leave the bed with you until at least noon.” Keith blinked at him. “We need some rest.”

Lance frowned. "..but..we- I.." he paused, seeming worried as he hugged Keith. "..Are you sure..? ...I don't think any servant wants to see us like this.." he says.

“We’re wearing covers, it’s not like we’re completely naked.” Keith sighed, shrugging.

"..And?...I don't really like the idea of any more of the staff knowing you and I are fucking..I don't want anyone seeing you near naked..yours too special to me." He says frowning softly.

Keith frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. “Then how about Coran or Shiro?”

Lance averted his eyes. "..well, ..Shiro already knows about us..so yeah, ..I guess he could help..We'd have to see if he's still here though."

“I’m sure he is. I think he’s departing this afternoon.” Keith said quietly. “You wanna go ring him up or should I?”

Lance let out a soft sigh. "..I-I'll call him. I'm sure he's busy though.." He says, shrugging as he went to get up and out of bed, briefly holding his head as he went to stand.

Keith pulled up the covers and yawned, reaching out to pinch Lance’s thigh as he walked away playfully.

Lance flinched as he was pinched. He headed over to the panel, opening the communications line. "Captain Shiro, please approach your nearest panel and type in two-two-nine. You are required if you're not too busy."


	22. We..are dating.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Comfort chapter... Rip Co-Author. I will never forget you.

Shiro hurried to a panel nearby and said as the instructions did. “Captain Shirogane speaking.”

Lance spoke into the panel. "Hey, Shiro..uh..Keith's heat's is finally over, and...I uh, ..h-how do I even say this..?!" he asks pausing to look back at Keith, his cheeks flushed. "..W-we need some things brought up, ..pain medication...I-I've got food and stuff in the room, but we didn't grab any pain medication." he says, honestly embarrassed.

Keith chuckled and smiled at him fondly. 

“No need to be embarrassed.” Shiro sighed. “I’ll grab some. Is there anything else you need?”

Lance averted his eyes frowning, his cheeks flushed. "..U-Uh, ...n-no I think that's it. We should be fine with just that." he says, "..Thank you, oh..and we'll be dressed." He says, looking back over at Keith. "...I'm sorry for bothering you, Shiro.."

“That’s alright.” Shiro hung up and started to collect the pain medication. 

Keith groaned. “I don’t wanna get dressed. Can’t I stay here?”

Lance frowned. leaving the panel and heading back to the bed, tossing him down on the bed. "Do you really wanna traumatize Shiro any further..?" He asks. "We're naked..we gotta get dressed, I don't wanna make him think even less of me..We already made him feel thrown off with all of this.." he says, frowning.

Keith laughed as he fell back into bed. “Alright, fine. Just a robe...?”

Lance sighed. "Fine..as long as it covers your butt it'll be good enough for Shiro.. " he says, sitting back up slowly, moving to pull on some fresh clothes from his things. He seemed exhausted, but he knew he had to get dressed too.. even if he felt like he could fall back asleep at any moment

Keith pulled on a bathrobe that was hanging from the side of the bed, groaning as he moved. “My back...”

Lance moved over to help keith into the robe, "..stay still, I'm sorry...I'm sure Shiro will find the pills and bring them quick.." He says, as he assisted Keith up enough to tuck his body into the robe.

Keith huffed as he slipped his arms into the sleeves. “Yeah, me too.”

Lance smiled pressing a kiss to Keith's cheek as he helped him lay back down once in the bath robe. "..You don't need to be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong."

Keith gave a him a kiss back and settled back down into the bed. “Everything is kind of a blur.”

lance shrugged. "..It feels like a blur to me too for ..some of it. I honestly have no idea why though.." He says frowning a little

Keith blinked at him tiredly. “You didn’t cum in me, did you?”

Lance shook his head. "..I..I think I came in your ass. ..I didn't want to come inside, ..b-but I think you kept asking to be filled.."

Keith frowned and gave a quiet sigh. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t really help it.”

Lance frowned, kissing keiths cheek. "..hey, hey.. dont apologize.. we're...we're not gonna be sorry about this. We got through it, ..I did my best, you did your best.. okay..?" He says softly, hugging keith carefully to him.

Keith nodded into his shoulder. “That means no apologizing for you either.”

Lance pressed a soft kiss into keith's cheek. "...Okay, I love you." He says calmly, hugging keith's cheek.

Keith shut his eyes and grabbed a body pillow to curl up against while they waited for Shiro.

Lance hugged Keith to hself, relaxing as he held the man he loved. He was relieved.

Keith pressed chaste kisses against Lance’s neck, tracing patterns into his chest. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

Lance averted his eyes, flushed. "..I want to take care of you, because I love you." he says, giving a soft laugh and a small smile

Keith tucked his face into Lance’s shoulder, embarrassed, when Shiro came in the door.

Lance pressed a kiss to keiths cheek, smiling as he pulled away from keith a little to welcome Shiro in. "O-Oh hey, yeah. Thank's..for everything, Shiro. ..Really." he says honestly, a small smile on his lips.

Keith peeked out from the blanket to see if Shiro had the medication, slipping an arm out to make a grabbing gesture.

Lance averted his eyes offering a small smile. Shiro nodded, moving to pass Keith the medication. "..Uh, ..are you two okay though? ..I mean, I can kind of assume.." he says, cutting himself off looking between Lance and Keith. 

Lance flushed, keeping his eyes averted.

Keith unscrewed the medication bottle and popped a few pills into his mouth. “Dating.” Keith finished. “We’re dating.”

Shiro nodded a little. "..I got that part, okay then, ..Well, ..I'm glad to see you're dating, ..But I really didn't need to hear some of the shit that I heard.." he says, referring to Lance's statement. Lance remained quiet and flushed. He hadn't realized his statement was even heard..

"I couldn't help it, Shiro." Keith frowned at him. "Thank you for your help."

Lance let out a soft sigh. Shiro averted his eyes but only briefly returning them to Keith. "..no problem. I just want to help you two..but I really didn't need to hear some of that stuff.. mainly from Lance." He says frowning.

“Some of what stuff?” Keith snapped defensively. “We are trying our best.”

Lance flinched briefly as Keith snapped. Lance swallowed softly, lowering his head. Shiro frowned deeply. "Things like you..being an exhibitionist, Keith. I didn't need to know that.. I know you're trying your best, ..I just didn't need to hear that from Lance.."

“Well we’ll try harder.” Keith mumbled. “You can go now. Thanks.”

Shiro sighed softly. "..I'm leaving by tonight, ..hopefully I'll see you both. Atlas is needed in sector seven." He says calmly, a small frown on his lips as he left. Lance remained quiet, careful as he moved towards the bed again after Shiro left. He seemed..hesitant. His throat felt tight..

Keith turned to Lance and curled up against his chest. “I don’t know why he’d do that. It doesn’t seem like him.”

Lance remained silent, he refused to make eye contact with Keith as he held the man he adored to his chest, tears were rising slowly to his eyes. He didn't say anything, choosing to remain quiet. His mind was moving quickly. Regret his main emotion. ..the secondary caused fear, slowly mounting as he tried to calm himself down in silence. His heart however was giving him away with his rapid beating.

“Hey, are you alright?” Keith whispered, lifting his head and cupping Lance’s cheeks.

Lance nodded quickly, tensing as Keith cupped his cheeks. "Y-yeah, yeah ..J-Just old memories cropping up.. I-I should have kept quiet...I-I thought he knew..I..I shouldn't have said anything about...us, ..while we walked upstairs.."

"Lance, relax." Keith murmured. "You're not at the fault here, okay? You didn't do anything wrong."

Lance frowned. "..but I did say things wrong ..Shiro was right, I shouldn't have mentioned that you're an exhibitonist..I mean yeah, I said it in a joking tone..but I shouldn't have said it at all.. it was a mistake, ..I ...I know he's not mad.., ..but I still shouldn't have said it.." he says frowning, bringing up an hand to wipe his own eyes. He didn't want to be emotional. The sternness in Shiro's voice was enough to nearly bring him to tears.. it terrified him despite Shiro barely addressing to Lance himself.

Keith cupped his face and brought him down for a gentle kiss. “Shh, my love. Deep breathes. I know it’s hard, I know...”

Lance gave a slightly forced smile as he kissed back, relaxing a little in Keith's hands. "..I'm sorry I said it.. I should have thought it through.." he says, taking a slightly deeper breath in, letting it out slowly. "..t-thank's.."

Keith started rubbing his shoulders, shaking his head sadly. “We’ve both been through some shitty stuff. And the people that hurt us were the ones we thought we could trust.”

Lance nodded softly. "....it's been a long..hard road. A-and now we finally get to recover, and I mean sure, ..it's not over yet, and I ..still can't really handle it," He says, shrugging a little as he averted his eyes. "..I know I can trust you. ..After all, you're the only one that has kicked my ass and happily gotten away with it.." He says, giving a small less forced smile.

Keith nudged his cheek and grinned. “There he is. There’s the man I love. C’mere, you.” He mumbled, hugging him tightly.

Lance averted his eyes flushed as he hugged Keith tightly. "You've got no clue how much I love you." he says giving a soft chuckle. "..Even when all the cards are down, and I was in trouble, ..even when everything bad went down..I always had to think of you, and what you would do to help yourself." he says softly.

Keith ran a hand down Lance’s back, tracing shapes. “That means a lot to me. You know, I’ve loved you for a long time. I was too scared to tell you.”

Lance relaxed as he felt keith's hand on his back. "...I know, ..I was too afraid to try and flirt with you, ..I was too afraid that you'd freak out on me..that you'd get angry or something.." he says softly. "..Even when things with ..the clone started going south, and he started with the sessions, ..I always tried to think like how would Keith escape this..? How would Keith evade the bots, ..how would Keith evade the arm.."

Keith hushed him with a hand against his cheek. “I know, I know... you’re so brave. You’re alright now, yeah?”

Lance went quiet as he was hushed, nodding softly, letting out a soft slow breath. "..Y-yeah, yeah..I'm okay. ..sorry ..I didn't think it'd make..me think of those times.." he admits, giving a slightly forced chuckle

“It’s unpredictable, love. Don’t say you’re sorry, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

Lance nodded a little, hugging Keith. He pressed a soft kiss to Keith's cheek. "..thank you." He says quietly.

“I love you so much.” Keith murmured into his cheek, hugging him tightly.

Lance hugged Keith. "..You're just s-so perfect for me..I love you so much.."

Keith snuggled against him and smiled. “Shiro must be in a bad mood, alright? It’s not your fault.”

Lance nodded softly, smiling a bit as he pressed a kiss to Keith's cheek. "Yeah...I-I bet he's a little weirded out to find out...more about your sex life." He says admitting a soft hesitant laugh

Keith nodded and leaned into the kiss. “Yeah. There, now you’re thinking right. Now what’s the plan for today?”

"maybe we can go see how Coran is doing.., ..maybe...leave the castle for a little while? ..we could go walk through the village if you want?" He suggested.

Keith smiled and carded a hand through Lance’s hair. “Sounds fun.”

Lance smiled a little. "..I'm sure you'd like to see how we figured out the altean's homes..they came before this all was even built.." He says pressing a kiss to Keith's cheek. "..But we could always just have a lounge around day and relax..? ...after all, I'm sure you're still sore, ..maybe going out of the castle can wait."

“Nah, I wanna get out and get some fresh air. It’ll be good to walk it off, anyways.” Keith chuckled.

Lance shrugged, smiling a bit. "..That works for me." he says offering a soft chuckle and a warm smile. "Maybe we can check on the pods too on our way back. I wanna see if my book's there."

Keith nodded and sat up with a yawn. “What’s your book about?”

Lance averted his eyes a little. "Just kinda..like a record of stuff that we've been through.. I started writing in it after the war.. I wrote down things I could remember...things we went through.. I update it every couple of days.. It's kind of like the old diary recording system we had in the castle.." He says shrugging. "Documenting our journey whenever we wanted"

Keith smiled and gave him an interested chuckle. “Oh, that’s great. I should try something like that.”

Lance flushed lightly, smiling. "There's still a lot of stuff I kinda wanna remove from the book, but I'm sure it can wait. Besides, I'm sure that long after we're gone, we don't want people seeing all the things that Voltron and Atlas did wrong and what happened behind closed doors." He says, giving a small smile, shrugging.

Keith responded, sighing softly. “I don’t think you should remove it. It’s a part of history. What if kids have to study us in the future?”

Frowning, Lance shook his head. "..They don't need to know what happened between me and Shiro..they just don't." He says frowning. "..What happened behind those doors, they don't need to see. They don't need to know how much we went through with clones, or how badly we suffered.."

Keith frowned. “I understand that part... yeah. But you don’t have to feel embarrassed about anything with me, at least.”

Lance let out a soft sigh. "..I want to forget about it, and just..grow. that's all. I'm not embarrassed, ..I'm just ashamed. I did things I'm not proud of, ..and while yeah, I didn't know at the time, it didn't dismiss that it was wrong.." he says frowning.

“Lance, you’ve never fucked up as badly as I have. You shouldn’t be ashamed of your past.” Keith sighed.

Lance frowned looking over at Keith, a sad look in his eyes. "...Keith.. You know you're different than me, okay.. You were younger, you didn't know anything better...He was fucked up..." He lowered his eyes a little, averting them "..but mine...I-I was over the age of consent and I still let it happen..hell I encouraged it.." He says, his shoulders raising. "..I didn't think I could be hurt by him..I thought Shiro knew best, I thought he knew how to take care of me..I thought he wasn't going to do w-what he did." he says.

“That doesn’t make it any more okay.” Keith slid his hands up to Lance’s shoulders and squeezed. “It’s no different, alright? Don’t invalidate your experience.”

"..It..It wasn't good, ..it wasn't a good relationship, and..I knew that after the fact, ..a-after the fight. It all made sense." He says frowning deeply. "..It is different, ..I should have been smarter, ..better without being forced to..." He says frowning deeply, keeping his eyes down. "..I love you,...b-but I am definitely removing the months I wrote in the book.."

Keith gave him a soft kiss. “I’ll support your decisions for the rest of our lives, love. No need to defend yourself.”

Lance kissed back softly, finally looking back up at Keith. "..I love you too.. I...I don't think I can handle the rest of the universe knowing all the problems we went through with Shiro's clone ...or with yours. " He says softly. "....Thank you."

“Of course, baby.” Keith squeezed him into a hug and sighed, tracing patterns on his back.

Lance relaxed a little as he hugged back. "..W-we..we can go see the village after I get the book, and I can show you around....maybe meet some more Alteans. I'm sure they're mostly busy here in the castle, were supposed to get some visitors in a few days, three ambassador and such.."

"That sounds great. Maybe we can help some villagers do some stuff?" He asked hopefully. "Be a help?"

Lance shrugged. "Anything we come across, I guess. There's still a lot of work to be done..a lot of us built these homes together." he says softly, his cheeks a little flushed, a small smile rising.

Keith pulled his hair into a ponytail and took another pain med. "Alright, then. You wanna wait a while or go now?"

Lance shrugged a little, pressing a soft kiss to keith's lips. "..I'm ready whenever you are. ..I could go grab the book while you get a..little less comfortable. Or did you want me to stay, I could help you?" he says.

Keith waved him off with a gentle smile. "No, thats's alright. Go grab your book, I'll be ready when you get back."

Lance gave a small smile, giving a soft nod as he left the bed. "Take your time,.. I don't want you hurting yourself." he says giving a warm smile as he went to leave the room. He hoped the book was still in the pod bay where he left it, under the pillows.

Keith sat up and limped over to the bathroom where he started a hot shower.

Lance headed for the pod bay, entering with his own code, He went over quickly to the makeshift bed and began to pull off the pillows, looking for the book, ..finding it beneath the very last pillow, relieved as he folded and pushed the makeshift bed into one of the built in storage sections hidden within the wall. Nobody else really needed to know he had been sleeping in the pod bay after all..

Keith showered quickly and applied some soothing balm over the bruises he'd given himself in his haste of the heat.

Lance headed back to the bedroom, taking his time. He checked that nobody was around before opening the book, pulling up the screen. He scrolled through, taking the short time to delete a few of the chapters of his loneliness. He knew he still had to delete a few chapters of his experiences with Shiro..but that could wait. He wanted to be there with Keith. ..Keith always knew how to make him feel better, even if he didn't know it.

Keith found some makeup to feebly cover up some of his hickies, getting dressed in a loose tunic and putting on shoes.

Lance arrived back, giving a soft smile as he went through the door, doing his best to be happy. The book was tucked under his arm. "Hey- oh.." he says, pausing a little. "Are you sure you're okay to walk it off..?"

Keith nodded and pulled his hair into a loose ponytail. “Of course. I would say no if I didn’t think I could, love.

Lance relaxed a little smiling. "Okay, okay.. I just want to make sure. You look really good in that by the way." he says giving a soft chuckle, moving to set the book down on the bed. "I'll delete the rest of it later."

Keith blushed and smiled, taking the book and sliding it into a dresser instead. “Here. We don’t want any maids snooping around and reading anything.”

Lance nodded as he flushed a little. "..I...If maybe you want to read it before we delete it, ...I..I'd be okay with it. ..I want you to know ..everything, ..even if it hurts to say aloud.." he says, giving an honest but a little sad smile. "...Let's head out, okay?"

Keith nodded and linked their arms together. “That’s alright, love. Let’s go and have some run, right?”

Lance smiled as they headed out, giving a nod. "I love you, wanna cut through the gardens? It'll take less time." He offers.

“Yeah! I wanna see the flowers too.” Keith gasped.

Lance smiled his cheeks flushing lightly. He led Keith through the halls back to the elevator


End file.
